M 

0 
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FORTY   YEARS 


AMONG    THE 


OLD  BOOKSELLERS 

OF  PHILADELPHIA, 

WITH 

Biugrii|ilii(;al  and  Bibliographical  llemarl(s. 


W.  BROTHERHEAD. 

Author  of  the  Centennial  Book  of  the  Signers  o/ 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  etc.,  etc. 


A.  P.  BROTHERHEAD, 

1440  South  Street,  Philadelphia. 

1891. 

-\I.L  RIGBTSRESERVKD 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/fortyyearsamongoOObrotiala 


FORTY  YEARS 


AMONG   THE 


Old  Booksellers 

OF 

PHILADELPHIA, 

WITH 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  REMARKS. 


BY 

W.  BEOTHEEHEAD, 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  CKNTKNNIAL  BOOK  OF  THE  SIGNERS  OP  THE  DECLARATION 
OF  INDEPENDENCE,  ETC.,  ETC. 


A.  P.  BROTHERHEAD, 

1440  SOUTH  STREET,  PHILADELPHIA. 

1891. 

All  rights  reserved. 


z. 

6o 


FORTY  YEARS 

AMONO   THK 

OLD  BOOKSELLERS 

IN 

PHILADELPHIA. 


By  W.  BKOTHERHEAD, 

Old  Bookseller. 


HAVE  been  solicited  by  many  old  friends  to 
relate  my  experience  as  an  old  bookseller  for 
the  last  forty  years.  1  have  succumbed  to 
their  desires,  and  in  doing  so  I  have  resolved  to  make 
a  plain  statement. 

The  position  of  old  bookseller  is  so  totally  different 
from  any  other  trade  that  it  requires  special  mention 
and  fuller  explanation.  A  grocer  sells  his  candles,  a 
tailor  fits  his  customer,  a  dry  goods  man  sells  his  goods; 
each  article  has  its  special  merits,  which  are  duly 

(3) 


4  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

described  by  its  seller,  then  the  matter  is  ended.  The 
qualifications  required  in  each  of  the  above  depart- 
ments are  of  a  general  mediocre  character,  such  as  any 
one  with  ordinary  brains  can  soon  learn — a  few  months 
are  generally  suf&cient.  The  old  bookseller — one  who 
is  worthy  of  the  name — must  have  high  qualifications, 
besides  the  mere  objective  merits  of  the  general  trades- 
men. The  first  requisite  he  requires  is  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  literature — he  should  be  a  cyclopasdia, 
able  to  answer  questions  about  the  general  nature  of 
books,  and  their  authors.  The  whole  field  of  history 
he  should  know,  from  Homer  to  Macaulay,  The  new 
discoveries  in  history,  either  biblical  or  general,  he 
should  know.  The  latest  discoveries  in  Egyptian 
history,  such  as  the  3000  years  old  papyri,  with  the 
biblical  discoveries  of  Tischendorf  and  other  profound 
scholars — all  should  be  known  by  him.  I  do  not 
mean  a  very  profound  knowledge,  but  a  general  one. 
I  am  aware  that  in  the  past^  as  well  as  the  present, 
mere  old  ragmen — old  junk  dealers — have  been  and 
are  metamorphosed  into  old  booksellers — a  disgrace  to 
its  high  intellectual  worth.  I  am  also  aware  of  some 
who  are  mere  catalogue  old  booksellers,  and  who,  par- 
rot-like, can  spin  you  off"  the  latest  books  collected  by 
a  Bohn  or  Quaritch,  but  are  not  aware  of  the  con- 
tents of  any  of  the  books,  nor  of  the  special  idiosyn- 
cracies  of  the   authors.     Such   booksellers   I  would 


THE   OLD  BOOKSELLERS.  5 

recommend  to  read  all  of  Dibdin's  works,  published 
under  the  patronage  of  the  Earl  of  Spencer  ;  "Censuria 
Literati;"  "Lownde's  Bibliographers'  Manual,"  edited 
by  H.  Bohn;  Brunet's  "Manual  of  Bibliography;" 
Watt's  great  work  on  Bibliography ;  Eich's  "Ameri- 
can Bibliography ; "  Stevens'  "  Nuggets."  These 
works  will  furnish  them  with  the  basis  of  bibliography 
— a  knowledge  of  books — on  which  they  can  build  by 
experience  a  superstructure  that  will  honor  their  pro- 
fession. Goldsmith,  in  his  "  Vicar  of  Wakefield," 
talks  about  "Shakespeare  and  the  musical  glasses;" 
how  few  of  our  booksellers  can  do  this !  Charles 
Lamb,  the  kindly  and  most  interesting  of  litterateurs, 
should  be  read  and  studied.  Hazlitt,  in  his  brilliant 
criticisms,  and  Leigh  Hunt,  in  his  Essays,  are  worthy 
of  careful  perusal. 

These  are  a  few  hints  thrown  out  for  the  especial 
attention  of  old  booksellers,  but  only  a  few ;  the  whole 
scope  of  general  literature  should  be  scanned  over, 
and  in  process  of  time  the  brain  would  be  so  filled 
with  special  literature  that  it  would  be  a  feast  for  the 
gods. 

In  1849  I  commenced  to  sell  old  books  at  the  north 
west  corner  of  Sixth  and  Market  streets.     My  stock 
was  worth  about  $60.     It  did  not  fill  up  my  shelves, 
and  I  added  cigars  to  my  stock,  and  filled  the  empty 
shelves  with  cigar- boxes.     These  in  a  short   time  I 


6  FORTY   YEARS  AMONG 

took  down,  and  in  their  place  I  covered  tlie  empty 
shelves  with  Catlin's  portraits  of  Indians.  These  being 
highly  colored,  made  a  good  show.  "Annuals"  were 
the  fashion  at  this  day — as  fashionable  as  a  lady's 
bonnet  is  now ;  no  one  could  do  without  the  "  Snow-_ 
lake,"  "  Iris,"  and  many  others. 

I  bought  my  books  chiefly  at  auction — then  carried 
on  by  G.  W.  Lord,  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Sixth 
and  Decatur  streets. 

The  old  book  trade  was  essentially  different  to  what 
it  is  now.  American  books  were  not  so  plentiful,  and 
the  English  sales  chiefly  supplied  our  wants. 

Lumley  of  London  sent  over  large  invoices  of  mis- 
cellaneous books,  most  of  them  the  trash  of  the  Lon- 
don auction  houses.  I  have  seen  him  buy  thousands 
of  volumes  at  auction  for  the  American  market. 
Willis  and  Southeran  were  large  exporters  to  this 
city ;  their  books  were  of  a  good  quality,  many  of 
them  were  large  folios  and  quartos  illustrated  with 
colored  plates,  engraved  on  copper  and  in  aqua  tint. 
This  class  of  books  are  not  even  common  in  the 
London  market,  and  are  catalogued  at  prices  50  per 
cent,  higher  than  they  were  bought  forty  years  ago. 

Dramatic  books  were  common.  Mrs.  Inchbald, 
Cumberland  and  Bells  Editions,  were  a  drug  on  the 
market  and  brought  at  auction  from  10  to  15  cents 
per  volume.     They  would  bring  twice  the  price  to-day 


THE   OLD  BOOKSELLERS.  7 

at  auction.  Dramatic  memoirs  were  also  in  plenty. 
Tate  Wilkinson's  Memoirs  in  4  volumes ;  The  Itine- 
rant in  4  volumes,  Life  of  Garrick,  Mrs.  Siddons, 
Edmund  Kean,  The  Kembles,  Cooke  and  others,  I 
imported  and  sold  for  about  50  cents  per  volume.  In 
the  London  market  to-day  these  books  sell  at  one  dol- 
lar per  volume  and  upwards. 

Americana,  or  books  on  America,  were  not  much 
in  request  forty  years  ago.  About  1850  I  com- 
menced importing  English  books,  those  that  were 
curious  and  rare,  among  them  many  curious  books  on 
America.  I  know  of  but  three  men  in  this  city  at 
that  time  that  bought  them ;  those  were  E.  D.  Ingra- 
ham,  Jabez  Fisher,  R.  C.  Davis  and  John  Mc-  / 
Allister,  now  dead,  was  one  of  my  earliest  customers ; 
nearly  every  morning  he  came  with  green  bag  and 
often  bought  of  me.  His  fine  library,  rich  in  local 
history,  is  now  in  possession  of  his  son  William,  who 
appreciates  it  highly;  all  the  family  are  lovers  of 
books.  Ingraham  and  Davis  are  dead ;  of  Fisher  I 
am  not  sure  whether  alive  or  not.  I  have  sketched 
the  character  of  Ingraham  in  my  memoir  of  him  in 
the  "Lives  of  Eminent  Philadelphians,"  which  I  pub-  ^ 
lished  in  1859.  I  will  only  add  here,  that  he  was 
one  of  the  most  original  bibliopoles  I  have  ever  met. 
He  was  eccentric  in  person,  witty  in  his  sayings,  a  dry 
humor  prevaded  his  conversation — it  had  the  bou- 


8  FORTY  YEARS   AMONG 

quet  of  Dibdin,  and  was  highly  flavored  with  anec- 
dotes of  the  most  distinguished  men  in  Europe.  I 
recollect  on  one  occasion,  and  the  only  one,  I  had  a 
copy  of  a  very  rare  book  then,  and  extremely  rare 
now,  "  The  Memoirs  of  Harriett  Wilson,  a  Woman 
of  Pleasure."  Mr.  Ingraham  had  a  copy  of  it  which 
was  illustrated  with  portraits,  autographs  and  news- 
paper cuttings.  Harriett  Wilson  gave  the  names  of 
many  of  her  patrons ;  among  them  was  the  Duke  of 
Wellington.  In  order  to  confirm  this  statement,  he 
wrote  to  a  special  friend  of  his  in  London,  and  he 
found  out  that  the  statement  was  true,  and  included 
many  other  highly  distinguished  persons.  About 
this  time  I  added  to  my  importation  of  old  books, 
old  engravings  and  autographs.  Ingraham  spent  many 
a  day  in  looking  over  my  collection,  and  added  many 
rare  historical  prints  with  which  his  famous  collec- 
tion of  books  was  illustrated.  The  collection  of  R.  C. 
Davis'  books  and  autographs  was  chiefly  indebted  to 
my  importations ;  so  was  Fisher's,  Dr.  Koecker's,  F.  J. 
Dreer's  famous  collection  of  autographs,  which  he 
has  generously  given  to  the  Pennsylvania  Historical 
Society  of  this  city.  In  1857  I  published  in  my 
^^ American  Notes  and  Queries^^^  a  full  description  of  this 
collection.  This  description  was  afterwards  printed 
in  quarto  form  on  card  paper ;  twenty-five  copies  were 
only  printed  and  given  away. 


THE  OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  V 

After  importing  for  four  years,  I  found  the  mania 
for  collecting  books  on  America  was  gradually  in- 
creasing. I  instructed  my  agent  to  collect  everything 
in  America  he  could  find,  either  in  books,  engravings 
or  autographs. 

The  Americana  fever  increased  very  rapidly.  In- 
graham  died;  his  collection  of  books  was  sold  at  auc- 
tion, comprising  over  17,000  volumes.  Every  nook 
and  corner  of  his  house  was  packed  with  books — 
many  were  found  that  were  claimed  by  different  per- 
sons. His  penchant  was  first  to  buy — if  the  per- 
sons would  not  sell  he  would  borrow,  and  rarely  re- 
turn— the  book  he  must  have  at  any  cost,  even  at  the 
risk  of  honor — at  least  a  pardonable  sin.  This  gave 
the  great  impetus  for  buying  American  books,  or  old 
books  on  America,  illustrated  with  every  device  im- 
aginable. The  mania  gradually  pervaded  every  city 
— east,  west,  north  and  south.  New  York  at  this 
time,  from  1852  and  in  that  decennial  period,  had  not 
fairly  started.  She  had  not  any  special  booksellers 
for  many  years  that  supplied  the  wants  of  a  few  col- 
lectors who  were  ardent  in  their  desires  to  augment 
their  collections.  Mr.  Menzies,  a  Scotchman,  had  risen 
from  the  ranks  of  labor,  and  became  a  wealthy  man 
— a  kind  and  generous  one,  without  bluster — modest 
in  all  his  dealings,  and  exhibited  a  rare  taste  in  the 
selections  of  books  he  desired.     He  not  only  bought 


10  FORTY  YEARS  AMONG 

the  most  recherche  editions,  but  they  were  almost  im- 
maculate in  condition.  Uncut  copies  were  his  chief 
aim,  and  for  them  he  would  pay  a  generous  price. 
At  the  time  when  Irving  was  urged  by  his  literary 
publisher,  Mr.  Putnam,  to  write  a  "  Life  of  Washing- 
ton," he  was  influenced  to  do  this  by  men  like  Men- 
zies — the  result  was  a  Life  of  Washington  by  Irving. 
Its  appearance  caught  at  the  flood -tide  of  Americana, 
and  the  rage  for  illustration  of  books  was  at  its  height. 
Irving's  Washington  was  the  chief  book,  and  on  it 
Mr.  Menzies  lavished  his  money  in  profusion.  At 
that  time  I  was  the  chief  importer  of  books  in 
America,  including  old  engravings  and  autographs; 
and  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  this  book,  Messrs. 
Menzies,  Bailey,  Myers,  John  Munroe,  John  Allen, 
and  other  New  York  collectors,  made  me  many  visits, 
and  bought  liberally. 

Mr.  Menzies  found  age  and  debility  creeping  on 
him,  and  not  having  any  one  in  his  own  family 
that  appreciated  his  efforts,  he  wisely  concluded  to 
sell  his  famous,  and  in  many  respects  unique,  collec- 
tion of  books.  The  library  was  sold  at  auction  ;  the 
catalogue  was  got  up  in  superb  style — a  fitting  ac- 
companiment to  his  unrivaled  collection  of  books. 
The  prices  the  books  brought  were  complimentary  to 
their  owner ;  yet,  I  presume,  they  did  not  bring  the 
original  cost.     Irving's   "  Life   of  Washington"   was 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  11 

his  chef  cPoeuvre.  It  was  illustrated,  with  several  orig- 
inal letters  of  Washington,  original  water  colors  of 
scenes  depicted  ia  the  Life,  rare  views  •  and  portraits ; 
bound  in  7  volumes,  quarto,  and  bought  by  Joseph 
Drexel  for  $7,000,  How  much  more  pleasant  it  was 
for  Mr.  Menzies  to  ponder  and  reflect  on  the  acts  of 
his  past  life,  that  his  princely  expenditures  on  books 
aggregated  for  his  family  an  income  that  would  keep 
them  living  a  luxurious  life!  How  many  princely 
incomes  have  been  spent  on  horses,  yachting-club  life,  cLa,-.  tn 
and  countless  debaucheries  and  gambling  generally, 
ending  in  bankruptcy,  suicide,  or  in  poverty !  Such 
business  as  book  collecting,  and  other  kindred  sub- 
jects, are  near  akin  to  genius,  and  whose  names  live 
in  history,  while  the  others  mentioned  are  pointed  to 
as  cases  of  demoralization,  and  always  subject  to  cen- 
sure— in  fact,  are  black  spots  always  to  be  avoided. 

In  January,  1857,  I  commenced  the  issue  of  / 
'"'■American  Notes  and  Queries  f^  this  was  the  first 
American  magazine  devoted  to  this  subject  matter. 
It  was  succeeded  a  few  months  later  by  the  "  Histori- 
cal Magazine,^''  published  in  New  York,  I  only 
issued  four  numbers,  my  means  being  too  limited  for 
any  further  delivery ;  500  copies  were  issued,  and  it  is 
now  very  scarce^  and  when  sold  at  auction,  brings 
generally  more  than  its  original  price,  which  is  not  a 
common  thing  in  magazines.     At  this  time  a  well- 


12  rORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

known  name  in  this  city,  and  a  peculiar  personality, 
was  a  frequent  visitor  at  my  store,  then  213  S.  8th  v 
street — Charles  A.  Poulson.  He  was  a  tall,  erect  man, 
somewhat  pompous  in  his  manner,  and  reticent  to  all 
but  his  friends.  His  penchant  was  the  collection  of 
local  views  of  this  city  ;  many  he  painted  in  water 
colors  from  memory.  His  home  on  Front  street,  one 
of  the  old  aristocratic  residences  100  years  ago,  and  I 
presume  built  by  his  celebrated  father,  the  originator, 
editor  and  printer  of  the  North  American^  was  literally 
covered  with  local  views.  I  am  indebted  to  him  for 
several  historical  views  published  in  my  first  "  Booh 
of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence ^  I 
wished  to  have  a  view  of  the  house  in  which  Wash-  y 
ington  lived,  in  Market  street  below  Sixth  street,  south  . 
side,  now  part  of  Wanamaker's  store,  southeast  corner 
of  Sixth  and  Market  streets.  On  making  careful  in- 
quiry, I  found  none  had  been  made.  I  then  inquired 
of  my  old  friend  John  McAllister,  an  old  respected 
Philadelphian.  He  knew  of  none,  but  referred  me  to 
our  mutual  friend  0.  A.  Poulson.  I  saw  him :  he  had 
none.  I  then  knew  of  his  local  sketches,  and  asked 
him  if  he  could  not  draw  one  from  memory.  He  said 
he  would  try.  He  did  so.  When  finished  I  then 
showed  it  to  Mr.  McAllister  and  other  old  residents, 
and  all  pronounced  it  good.  He  also  drew  from 
memory  the   views  in   my  "  Book   of  the   Signers  ^^^ 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  1$ 

^'^  Fort  WYZsow,"  and  ^'■Thomas  McKeari's  House,^^ 
these  were  all  pronounced  correct  by  men  who  had 
seen  them.  Mr.  Poulson  died  soon  after  he  made  these 
views  for  me ;  and  let  us  ever  remember  that  the 
antique  collection  of  scrap-books  filled  with  illustra- 
tions and  newspaper  cuttings,  were  given  by  him  and 
are  now  in  the  Philadelphia  Library,  of  the  greatest 
value  to  local  history.  I  feel  great  pleasure  in  noting 
here  that  John  A.  McAllister,  Jr.,  requested  Mr.  Poul- 
son to  give  his  collection  to  the  Library,  and  that 
John  A.  McAllister  paid  the  whole  expense  of  mount- 
ing them.  Such  men  are  rare,  and  let  us  pay  homage 
to  those  who  devote  their  time  and  money  to  such 
researches. 

In  1850  we  had. about  300,000  in  population;  but 
a  greater  ratio  of  old  book  collectors  were  active 
then  than  now  with  a  population  estimated  over 
1,000,000.  In  the  50's  we  had  fifteen  old  booksellers. 
In  1890,  with  a  population  three  times  as  great,  not 
more  than  twelve  can  be  counted  worth  mentioning. 
This  state  of  things,  in  a  literary  sense,  is  truly  de- 
grading to  us  as  an  intelligent  and  cultured  city ;  and, 
however  we  may  boast  of  our  increased  manufactures 
and  general  increase  of  business,  we  are  sadly  wanting 
in  all  the  elements  which  distinguish  Paris,  London, 
Berlin,  Vienna,  or  Rome ;  in  a  word,  our  life  is  more 
objective  than  subjective — is  more  animal  than  Intel- 


14  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

lectual.  We  had  far  more  old  book  collectors,  far 
more  collectors  of  old  engravings  and  autographs, 
with  300,000,  than  we  now  have  with  over  1,000,000 
of  people.  Wealth  and  learning  have  always  in  Eu- 
rope  gone  hand  in  hand  together;  but  our  desires  and 
highest  ambition  trend  to  the  grossly  material  part  of 
our  nature.  I  must  not  omit  to  notice  the  princely 
sums  of  money  that  have  been  given  by  Dr.  Rush,  of 
this  city,  Peabody,  Astor,  Pratt,  Carnegie,  and  others, 
to  the  erection  of  costly  buildings  and  the  furnishing 
of  costly  books  to  the  different  libraries.  These  val- 
uable gifts,  at  least,  show  that  amid  the  turmoil  and 
activities  of  business  the  latent  idea  of  an  intellectual 
life  is  not  forgotten.  All  praise  to  these  noble  souls 
for  such  acts. 

In  1859  I  conceived  the  idea  of  making  a  book 
containing  fac  simile  letters  of  each  Signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  and  other  matters  per- 
taining to  them.  This  I  accomplished,  and  in  1860 
published  it.  It  may  be  pertinent  to  state  here  that 
this  book  is  the  only  one  in  the  world  that  contains 
a  complete  monument  to  the  founders  of  the  nation 
and  of  our  great  Republic.  England  has  its  Magna 
Charta,  and /ac  similes  can  be  had  of  it  on  an  illum- 
inated sheet,  but  the  seals  only  of  those  men  who 
wrung  from  King  John  this  immortal  document  are 
only  to  be  seen.    I  had  a  number  of  subscribers — 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  15 

<<everal  from  the  South.  Dr.  Gibbes,  a  well-known 
writer  and  historian,  was  a  subscriber  ;  in  1860  when 
the  late  Eebellion  was  in  its  first  throes,  when  South 
Carolina  became  hotly  belligerent,  when  she  first  or- 
ganized her  rebellious  forces,  when  everything  was 
red  hot.  Dr.  Gibbes  paid  a  last  visit  to  his  old  friend 
Dr.  Samuel  Jackson.  He  paid  me  a  visit,  and  paid  for 
his  copy,  adding  that  "it  would  be  the  last  money  he 
would  pay  me  as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States."  Alas 
for  him  and  his  associates,  it  did  not  prove  to  be  true. 
As  a  mark  of  his  worth  the  Eebel  Government  made 
him  Surgeon  in  Chief  of  the  Confederate  Army.  He 
is  now  dead,  and  peace  to  his  ashes.  Another  singu- 
lar circumstance  of  the  late  war  occurred:  One  of  my 
subscribers  from  Norfolk,  Virginia,  a  well-known  book 
collector,  a  minister  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  whose  name  I  now  forget,  desired  me  to  send 
his  copy  by  express,  and  C.  O.  D.  on  delivery.  This 
was  done,  and  the  money  sent  by  express — it  was  all 
in  Jive-cent  pieces —  witb  a  note  stating  he  was  sorry 
to  send  such  small  money,  but  war  was  afloat  every- 
where, and  Virginia  would  soon  be  out  of  the  Union. 
As  a  mark  of  respect  to  Queen  Victoria,  I  had  a 
folio  copy  of  my  book  sent  to  her  through  the  United 
States  Minister  at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  G.  M. 
Dallas,  formerly  Vice-President  of  the  United  States, 
and   of  this  city.     When   the   courtly  and  highly- 


16  rORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

talented  Minister  returned  to  this  city  from  England, 
he  one  morning  brought  me  a  letter  of  thanks  from 
Lord  John  Russell,  who  was  then  Home  Secretary. 
I  shall  never  forget  that  fine  manly  presence  with  his 
beauty  and  gray  hair,  and  how  courtly  he  flattered 
me  in  presenting  such  a  fine  copy  to  the  Queen  of 
England.  This  copy  I  had  bound  in  full  Levant 
Turkey  morocco.  The  sides  were  emblazoned  with 
the  coat  of  arms  of  both  countries.  The  sides  of  the 
book  were  covered  with  the  finest  leather,  and  cut  in 
diamond  shape,  and  in  each  diamond  was  the  eagle 
and  the  lion  in  each  alternate  diamond. 

In  1861  the  war  was  fairly  commenced,  business 
was  paralyzed,  war,  war,  was  the  cry  everywhere,  all 
business  except  that  of  war  was  thrown  aside,  old 
book  collectors  locked  up  their  libraries,  then  engrav- 
ings and  autographs  were  thrown  aside  and  men 
buckled  on  their  war  armor,  and  on  they  went  to 
Washington  to  fight  for  their  country.  Newspaper 
literature  took  the  place  of  books.  No  one  had  any 
time  to  read  except  war  news,  and  amid  all  this  ex- 
citement for  one  year  books  were  forgotten.  When 
the  movements  of  the  various  armies  began,  exciting 
episodes  almost  daily  occurred,  the  chief  and  earliest 
among  them  was  the  movements  of  General  Fremont 
in  the  southwest,  especially  that  masterly  retreat  of 
General  Sigel  when  General  Price  attacked  him  with 


THE  OLD  BOOKSELLERS.  17 

superior  numbers.  General  Fremont's  policy  was 
somewhat  novel  and  drastic  in  its  character,  and  his 
enemies  showed  him  no  mercy.  It  was  to  his  rescue 
from  such  undeserved  censure  that  I  wrote  in  his  de- 
fense one  of  the  first  pamphlets  of  war  literature  en- 
titled "  General  Fremont  and  the  injustice  done  him 
by  politicians  and  envious  military  men."  In  1862 
war  literature  was  fairly- commenced  and  all  other 
literature  was  subordinated  to  it.  It  may  be  truly 
stated  that  the  history  of  the  world  cannot  show  a 
war  literature  to  equal  either  in  quantity  or  quality, 
that  which  we  possess. 

In  1860  I  commenced  my  Circulating  Library  at 
218  South  Eighth  Street.  From  the  large  stock  of 
old  books  which  I  had,  I  selected  the  nucleus  of 
my  library,  and  added  to  it  the  new  books  as  they 
were  issued.  I  still  continued  buying  and  selling 
old  books,  while  the  patrons  to  my  library  daily  in- 
creased. The  success  of  my  library  caused  me  to  pay 
more  attention  to  it  than  old-book  selling,  and  this 
business  of  the  library  was  my  chief  care.  The  lease 
of  my  store,  218  South  Eighth  Street,  ended  in  1863, 
and  at  that  time,  when  the  war  absorbed  every  person 
and  every  action,  I  found  it  difficult  to  rent  a  suitable 
place.  I  however  rented  911  Locust  Street,  and 
added  such  alterations  as  I  deemed  necessary. 

In  1867, 1  bought  the  property  No.  205  South  Thir- 
2 


18  FORTY   YEARS  AMONG 

teenth  Street.  I  pulled  the  old  building  down  and 
erected  a  new  house,  and  made  the  first  story  for  my 
library,  and  to  it  I  moved  in  November,  1867.  I  still 
continued  old-book  buying  and  selling,  and  used  the 
basement  of  my  house  for  that  purpose.  At  this  time 
I  had  50,000  volumes  in  my  library,  and  I  can  say, 
without  egotism,  that  in  number  of  volumes  and  first- 
class  literature  it  had  not  its  equal  in  the  United 
States  as  a  circulating  library. 

I  imported  many  of  the  new  English  books  as  were 
issued  which  were  not  republished  in  this  country, 
and  added  to  them  American  books.  This  was  the 
distinctive  character  of  my  library,  and  as  such  it  was 
patronized  by  the  elite  of  this  city  and  its  suburbs.  I 
was  proud  of  my  library  and  especially  of  my  patrons, 
and  felt  gratified  by  my  success. 

In  addition  to  my  library  in  this  city,  I  was  solic- 
ited to  open  one  in  Pottsville,  Wilkesbarre,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  Elkton,  Md.,  and  Dover,  Del.  These  were 
all  in  existence  for  some  time,  until  the  persons  with 
whom  I  had  made  arrangements  either  died  or 
changed  their  business.  This  method  of  diffusing 
knowledge  should  meet  with  the  approbation  of  all 
good  people,  and  I  as  the  main  instrument  in  this  me- 
thod feel,  I  have  at  least  rendered  valuable  assistaiice 
to  obtain  general  knowledge. 

About  1877  commenced  the  issue  of  cheap  litera- 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  19 

ture ;  the  Lakeside  Series  was  commenced  in  Chicago ; 
the  Seaside  followed,  with  numerous  other  issues  that 
affected  all  libraries  like  mine. 

In  1878  I  met  with  a  serious  accident  by  falling  on 
the  ice,  and  injured  my  spine.  For  several  months  I 
was  seriously  sick  under  Dr.  John  Brinton's  care — at 
least  he  advised  me  to  go  to  Europe,  as  my  nervous 
condition  was  so  shattered  by  the  fall.  This  meant  a 
relinquishment  of  my  business,  which  to  me  was  a  sad 
loss ;  but  as  my  health  was  paramount  over  all,  I  sold 
out  my  business,  first  at  private  sale,  and  afterwards  at 
auction.  I  spent  most  of  1878  and  1879  in  England, 
and  felt  somewhat  better,  but  it  took  me  five  years 
before  I  fully  recovered  my  health. 

This  statement  breaks  my  chronological  arrange- 
ment, and  I  must  now  refer  back  to  1875.  The  Cen- 
tennial was  the  talk  of  the  day;  everything  was  in 
active  preparation  for  the  next  year,  1876.  Such  a 
great  event  as  the  celebration  of  the  first  century  of 
our  Kepublic  I  thought  should  be  honored  in  a  fitting 
manner  with  a  special  literary  monument  to  its  found- 
ers. I  resolved  to  issue  a  second  series  of  my  ^^Booh 
of  the  Signers y  This  second  series  is  additional  to 
the  matter  in  my  first  book.  l^\i&  facsimile  letters  are 
a  new  issue,  the  historical  matter  new  and  more  com- 
plete. I  made  an  arrangement  with  Joseph  M.  Stod- 
dard for  its  publication — I  furnishing  all  the  material 


20  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

■printed  on  sheets,  and  he  binding  the  book  or  issuing 
it  in  numbers  as  he  thought  fit.  I  added  many 
oriyinal  illustrations  to  this  edition  which  at  the  time 
I  published  my  first  series  I  could  not  obtain. 

The  issues  of  new  books  on  this  grand  occasion  were 
so  numerous  that  I  doubt  if  a  dozen  succeeded  in 
making  expenses.  I  lost  in  money,  exclusive  of 
labor  and  time,  over  $5,000,  This  harassed  me  pecu- 
niarily so  that  I  never  fully  recovered  from  it,  and 
do  not  expect  to.  All  this  patriotic  devotion  and  irk- 
some labor  elicited  only  plain,  bald  sympathy,  but 
only  a  particle  of  material  aid.  I  still  live  comforta- 
bly and  humbly,  and  though  I  cannot  boast  of  my 
thousands  of  dollars,  yet  my  books  will  live  as  long  as 
the  Kepublic  exists — nay,  they  can  never  die,  while 
an  historical  scholar  lives  or  our  grand  libraries  exist. 
'This  is  poor  consolation  in  a  money  point  of  view ; 
but  the  poor  scholar  looks  to  a  brighter  future,  not 
tinged  with  the  dross  of  gold. 

After  my  return  from  England  in  1879,  I  again  got 
quietly  into  business  with  about  1,000  volumes  of  old 
books.  I  chiefly  sold  to  booksellers  in  different  parts 
of  the  country  by  catalogue  and  otherwise;  but  I 
yearned  to  again  commence  business  in  my  old 
style,  and  my  health  being  gradually  restored,  I 
opened  my  present  book  store,  1440  South  street, 
with  a  very  limited  stock,  and  still  live  in  a  very 


THE  OLD  BOOKSELLERS.  2l 

humble  manner ;  and  though  now  in  my  67th  year,  I 
still  feel  vigorous,  and  hope  to  die  in  harness. 

Having  given  an  account  of  my  personal  identity 
in  old  bookselling  for  over  forty  years,  I  propose  to 
sketch  a  few  of  my  co-laborers  in  the  same  business, 
thus  partially  filling  up  gaps  of  local  history  that 
some  future  local  historian  may  use. 

APLEY. 

The  Arcade  in  Chesnut  street,  between  Sixth  and 
Seventh  streets,  north  side,  was  purchased  some  years 
ago  by  the  late  Dr.  Jayne.  This  fine  old  building  he 
pulled  down,  and  erected  in  the  place  several  fine 
stores  which  are  used  for  wholesale  purposes.  The 
Arcade  had  many  claims  for  admiration.  Its  architec- 
ture was  somewhat  novel  and  ornate.  The  front  on 
Chesnut  street  had  architectural  beauties  which  the 
present  stores  cannot  claim.  There  was  a  well-patron- 
ized restaurant  and  several  stores  fronting  on  Chesnut 
street.  The  entrance  into  Decatur  street  contained 
many  small  stores  on  each  side.  These  stores  resem- 
bled a  bazaar  by  the  motley  appearance  of  the  vari- 
ous goods  offered  for  sale. 

In  one  of  those  stores  resided  a  very  dirty  man, 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  a  collection  of  old  books 
almost  without  form,  scattered  here  and  there  with- 
out any  classification,    He  was  a  man  of  about  fifty 


22  FORTY  YEARS  AMONG 

years  of  age  or  thereabouts ;  he  might  have  been  older, 
but  his  dirty  and  ragged  appearance  made  it  difficult 
to  say  how  old  he  was.  He  always  looked  dark  and 
sallow.  His  features  were  not  repulsive  to  look  at, 
but  they  had  that  miserly  cast  ,vhich  at  one  glance 
caused  him  to  be  a  marked  character.  The  windows 
of  his  store  were  so  thick  with  dirt  and  rubbish  that  it 
was  difficult  to  see  the  titles  of  the  books.  I  have 
many  times  visited  the  store  for  the  purpose  of  pur- 
chasing books,  and  in  looking  round  through  the 
vistas  of  shelves  erected  at  random,  you  would  see 
him  in  some  nook  or  corner  lift  up  his  bedizened  face, 
and  if  early  in  the  morning  he  would  be  cooking 
or  eating  his  breakfast.  The  smell  of  the  room,  with 
the  mustiness  of  the  old  books  and  the  smell  of  his 
eatables,  was  anything  but  savory  or  cleanly.  The 
description  which  Dickens  gives  in  "Old  Curiosity 
Shop,"  of  the  store  in  which  Little  Nell's  grandfather 
lived,  is  nothing  to  compare  with  old  Apley's  store  in 
the  Arcade.  As  far  as  my  recollection  carries  me,  he 
slept  and  lived  in  this  dirty  atmosphere  of  old  books. 
If  he  was  married,  and  I  think  he  was  not,  I  never  in 
all  my  visits  saw  the  appearance  of  a  womanly  face, 
or  any  signs  of  womanly  care  and  attention.  I  think 
he  was  an  American.  My  conversations  with  him 
were  not  numerous,  but  I  have  not  the  faintest  idea 
that  he  possessed  any  bibliographical   knowledge  of 


THE   OLD  BOOKSELLERS.  28 

books.  He  died  in  the  fifties.  I  am  not  sure  of  the 
year,  but  his  store  for  some  time  was  carried  on  by  one 
of  his  brothers,  who  soon  relinquished  it  and  went  into 
another  business. 

DUROSS.  My.^»ai.*<5^.. 

^  Duross  is  dead.  He  was  a  specimen  of  the  rough, 
gruff  Irishman;  a  rough  diamond — though  he  had 
kindly  impulses,  and  to  those  that  knew  him,  he  was 
a  good  fellow.  His  old  book  store  was  in  the  Arcade 
near  to  Apley's,  and  though  his  stock  was  not  large, 
yet  it  was  well  selected.  His  business  was  very 
limited ;  he  had  some  means  which  did  not  render  it 
imperative  that  his  daily  bread  depended  on  his 
profits  from  sales  of  books.  Mr.  Duross  died  at  an 
advanced  age. 

JAMES  DALLING. 

'^  Calling  was  a  Scotchman,  of  the  old  school.  He 
kept  a  very  select  collection  of  old  books  for  sale  on 
South  Eighth  street,  above  Chestnut,  east  side,  now 
Green's  hotel,  and  was  well  patronized  by  book  buy- 
ers. He  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  education, 
and  attracted  the  best  class  of  book  buyers.  He  was 
not  a  man  who  stooped  to  conquer,  but  was  firm  in  all 
his  dealings,  and  with  all  the  canny  characteristics  of 
his  race.     He,  like  the  majority  of  old  booksellers, 


24  FORTY  YEARS  AMONG 

did  not  amass  a  fortune ;  in  fact,  the  pure  and  un- 
adulterated old  bookseller  seldom  does  more  than  live 
comfortably,  collect  stock,  and  feast  among  his  books, 
and  love  to  talk  to  his  literary  customers  of  the  great 
geniuses  in  the  Elizabethan  age,  and  descant  on  the 
talents  and  greatness  of  the  age  of  Queen  Anne. 

JOHN  PENNINGTON. 

The  Pennington  family  was  of  old  Quaker  stock,  and 
John  Pennington  added  honor  and  probity  to  the  old 
family  connections.  He  was  a  well  educated  man,  and 
courtly  both  in  personality  and  conduct ;  in  fact,  he 
was  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school.  I  have  been  in- 
formed he  was  a  clerk  in  the  Custom  House.  While 
there  he  began  to  purchase  books  to  suit  his  own 
tastes,  which  were  those  of  a  helle  lettres  class.  Some 
reason  occasioned  him  to  leave  his  position,  and  he 
took  the  books  he  had  collected  and  opened  an  old 
book  store  on  South  Fourth  street,  below  Market, 
west  side.  He  was  a  good  French  scholar,  and  part 
of  his  stock  was  French  books.  He  commenced  the 
importation  of  old  books,  both  French  and  English, 
and  this  scholarly  man  soon  attracted  around  him  a 
coterie  of  literary  men  learned  in  book  lore  and  ac- 
complished in  manners. 

Before  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  South,  when 
their  p9,ternal  governments  were  in  full  sway,  when 


THE  OLD  BOOKSELLBES.  25 

fortunes  were  made  out  of  the  poor  slaves,  then 
flourished  the  literary  Augustan  age  of  the  South. 
Let  it  be  said  tq  the  credit  of  these  men  that  they 
cultivated  the  hereditary  literary  instincts  of  their 
Anglo-Saxon  forefathers.  The  money  made  from  the 
work  of  these  slaves  was  haughtily  and  grandly  spent 
in  educating  their  children  in  the  best  schools  of 
Europe.  The  sons  were  trained  for  the  various  pro- 
fessions, and  the  most  accomplished  teachers  that 
Europe  could  furnish  were  employed  for  their  higher 
education.  The  results  were  that  in  proportion  to 
their  population,  the  Southerners  produced  a  class  of 
men,  both  in  numbers  and  general  culture,  that  far 
exceeded  those  in  the  Middle  and  Eastern  States.  The 
history  of  the  country  shows  that,  up  to  1860,  when 
the  Eebellion  broke  out  in  its  greatest  ferocity,  the 
South,  in  both  the  Congress  and  the  Senate,  shows  a 
greater  galaxy  of  brilliant  men  than  all  the  rest  of  the 
States  combined.  However  censurable  and  question- 
able this  mode  of  government  may  be  considered  by 
many,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  it  produced  a  class  of 
men  always  to  be  admired  by  the  literary  student, 
V  that  we  in  the  North  have  as  yet  failed  to  produce. 
^  It  was  this  class  of  men  who  were  the  chief  patrons 
of  John  Pennington.  Most  of  these  men  were  excel- 
lent French  scholars,  and  they  required  French  books. 
John  Pennington  had  commenced  the  importation  of 


26  FORTY  YEARS  AMONG 

these  books,  and  for  many  years  he  had  the  chief  busi- 
ness in  his  hands.  The  New  York  booksellers,  forty 
years  ago,  had  scarcely  thought  of  this  line  of  business. 

Mr.  Christern,  a  German,  opened  a  book  store  under 
the  National  Theatre,  then  leased  by  W.  E.  Burton, 
and  which  was  burned  down,  and  in  its  place  now 
stands  the  Continental  hotel.  In  one  of  the  stores  at- 
tached to  the  theatre,  on  Chestnut  street,  Mr.  Christern 
sold  foreign  books  and  engravings.  He  did  not  oc- 
cupy the  store  long,  but  took  his  business  to  New 
York,  and  there  finally  commenced  the  sale  of  foreign 
books,  and  I  think  still  continues. 

Mr.  Pennington's  store  become  the  centre  of  the 
elite  litterateurs  of  this  city,  and  of  men  like  Charles 
Sumner  and  others.  When  the  literary  men  of  the 
Eastern,  Northern  and  Southern  States  visited  this 
city,  nearly  all  were  attracted  to  his  store  to  buy  from 
his  fine  stock,  or  give  orders  for  European  books. 
The  literary  chit-chat  of  those  men,  for  I  have  heard 
them,  reminded  me  of  what  can  be  found  in  Boswell's 
"Life  of  Johnson,"  where  men  like  the  burly,  stern 
moralist  Dr.  Johnson  met  the  inspired  idiot  Oliver 
Goldsmith,  Sir  Joshua  Eeynolds,  Garrick,  and  other 
great  men,  where  their  wit  and  learning  kept  the  table 
i  n  a  roar.  Those  times  are  past,  but  I  hope  at  sometime 
will  be  resuscitated.  I  forget  the  year  when  John  Pen- 
nington removed  from  Fourth  street  to  Seventh  street, 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  27 

near  Walnut  street.  He  was  there  for  several  years. 
The  war  broke  out  in  1861,  and  as  his  principal  trade 
was  among  Southern  men,  his  business  become  para- 
lyzed, and  his  losses  great.  He  felt  his  loss  of  the 
Southern  trade  very  much ;  and  as  New  York  had 
begun  about  this  time  to  pay  special  attention  to  the 
importation  of  books,  engravings,  and  the  fine  arts,  we 
lost  that  part  of  our  business  in  this  city,  and  it  has 
been  for  many  years  prosecuted  with  great  energy  and 
tact,  and  is  still  pursued  with  vigor  by  them.  To  our 
disgrace  it  must  be  said,  that  New  York  has  robbed  us 
of  that  fine  literary  business  we  had  here  from  1800  up 
to  1860.  This  city  was  the  great  literary  emporium 
of  the  United  States  from  1800  up  to  1850.  The 
finest  edition  of  the  Bible  —  hot-pressed  copies  — 
were  issued  by  the  Smalls,  and  fac  simile  editions  of 
the  English  Classics  were  issued  from  the  press  of 
Wardle.  Nearly  all  that  prestige  has  gone ;  spas- 
modic attempts  appear  now  and  then,  it  is  true,  but 
the  general  effect  has  passed  into  other  hands.  John 
Pennington  died  some  years  ago  ;  his  business  passed 
into  the  hands  of  his  son,  E.  Pennington ;  until  physi- 
cal infirmities  caused  him  to  relinquish  it  into  the 
hands  of  his  son ;  but  the  halo  of  old  John  Pennington 
has  passed  away,  and  his  fine  old  store  and  name,  ex- 
cept to  a  few,  is  sunk  into  oblivion. 


28  FORTY   YEARS  AMONG 

PETERSON  AND  CHILDS. 

R.  E.  Peterson,  father-in-law  of  George  W.  Childs, 
commenced  the  old  book  business  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  Fifth  and  Arch  streets,  with  Daniels  &  Smith, 
about  1848.  This  partnership  did  not  last  very  long  ; 
Daniels  &  Smith  separated  from  E.  E.  Peterson  and 
opened  a  book  store  at  No.  20  N.  Sixth  street.  This 
separation,  from  what  cause  I  know  not,  produced 
bad  feeling  and  an  intense  opposition  in  the  news- 
papers of  the  time,  especially  in  the  columns  of  the 
Ledger.  By  referring  to  them  it  will  be  seen  that  a 
fierce  opposition  was  carried  on  in  the  press.  Mr.  Pe- 
terson at  this  time,  when  opposition  ran  high,  engaged 
G.  W.  Childs  as  a  salesman.  Mr.  Childs  at  this  time 
was  salesman  for  Mr.  Thompson,  who  kept  a  book- 
store at  the  northwest  corner  of  Sixth  and  Arch 
streets.  In  a  short  time  the  value  of  the  services  of  Mr. 
Childs  was  apparent  to  Mr.  Peterson,  and  he  found  he 
had  got  a  man  whose  business  talents  could  not  be 
surpassed.  He  had  unbounded  energy  and  a  rare 
discretion. 

The  old  book  business  cabined  and  confined  this 
young  Hercules,  and  he  desired  a  larger  sphere  for  his 
talents,  and  suggested  the  publication  of  books.  About 
this  time  the  intrepid  traveler,  Dr.  Kane,  had  returned 
from  his  Artie  voyage — he  was  the  hero  of  the  day. 


THE  OLD  BOOKSELLE&S.  29 

Mr.  Childs  saw  his  golden  opportunity,  and  urged  Mr. 
Peterson  to  make  arrangements  with  Dr.  Kane  for  the 
publication  of  his  travels.  Mr.  Childs,  with  great  en- 
ergy, entered  heart  and  soul  into  this  great  enterprise, 
and,  taking  the  tide  at  the  flood,  pushed  it  on  with  a 
resistless  vigor — fanned  the  flame  of  excitement  from 
every  point  that  an  acute  observer  only  can  see — and 
the  result  was  a  marvellous  success.  The  book  was 
illustrated  with  sketches  from  Dr.  Kane's  drawings, 
by  that  erratic  genius,  James  Hamilton.  Those  who 
are  acquainted  with  art,  know  well  that  the  genius 
of  James  Hamilton,  in  a  collective  sense,  stands  unri- 
valled as  an  artist  in  chiaroscuro,  and  bold  effects. 
The  book  will  always  find  a  place  in  Arctic  discovery, 
and  stands  second  to  none  in  artistic  illustration.  I 
am  not  sure,  but  believe  that  the  masterly  manage- 
ment of  Mr.  Childs^  in  this  book  caused  Mr.  Peterson 
to  accept  him  as  his  partner. 

Many  other  valuable  publications  followed  this  of 
Dr.  Kane. 

Judge  Bouvier,  father-in-law  of  Mr.  Peterson,  to 
whom  I  have  sold  many  books,  was  collecting  material 
for  his  celebrated  Law  Dictionary,  which  was  published 
by  Childs  &  Peterson,  and  took  its  place  at  once  as  a 
classic  law  book,  and  still  retains  its  former  position. 
"American  Institutes  of  Law,"  by  Judge  Bouvier,  was 
the  second  success  of  author  and  publishers.     K.  E. 


80  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

Peterson  made  a  success  of  "  Familiar  Science  "  by  his     lln 
discreet  editorship,  and  other  publications  followed  in 
rapid  succession. 

Among  the  most  noted  books  in  general  literature 
is  Allibone's  "  Dictionary  of  Authors."  I  recollect 
well  that  a  specimen  copy  was  published  by  the  firm 
and  handed  around  to  publishers  and  booksellers  in 
order  to  obtain  their  opinions  on  it.  Mr.  Peterson 
called  on  me  and  left  one  of  these  copies  in  order  that 
he  should  have  my  opinion.  I  perused  it  carefully, 
and  when  he  again  called  on  me  for  the  copy  and  my 
opinion  I  probably  criticised  it  too  plainly.  I  said 
then,  and  repeat  it,  after  thirty  years'  experience,  that 
it  is  a  book  of  great  value  and  a  monument  of  industry, 
but  it  had  then  (somewhat  remedied  since)  too  much 
of  the  mutual  admiration  society  about  it,  as  it  gave 
long  critical  notices  of  lining  authors  from  such  sources 
as  Godey's  Magazine^  Oraham's  Magazine^  and  others 
of  equal  literary  value.  This  opinion  did  not  seem 
to  be  appreciated  by  Mr.  Peterson,  but  I  know  a  great 
quantity  of  the  matter  spoken  of  did  not  appear  when 
the  book  was  completed.  It  was  announced  to  be  in 
one  volume,  price  $5.  It  was  afterwards  sold  to  J.  B. 
Lippincott,  and  increased  to  three  volumes,  royal 
octavo,  and  sold  at  $25.  I  do  not  remember  whether 
Childs  &  Peterson  ever  completed  the  one-volume 
edition  or  not ;  but  the  work  stands  to-day  without 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  81 

an  equal.  I  know  the  book  is  indebted  for  its  exist- 
ence more  to  the  exertions  of  Mr.  Childs,  outside  of  its 
compilation,  than  to  any  other  man.  I  believe  that 
tlie  vast  number  of  books  required  by  Mr.  Allibone 
to  finish  the  book — that  the  money  required  for  it — 
was  furnished  by  Mr.  Childs  ;  and  had  it  not  been  for 
tliis  valuable  aid,  the  world  would  probably  not  have 
had  such  a  valuable  work  as  it  now  possesses. 

One  other  work-  published  by  this  firm  I  must 
mention,  as  it  is  the  product  of  a  noble  woman — the 
wife  of  E.  E.  Peterson,  the  daughter  of  the  late  Judge 
Bouvier,  and  the  mother-in-law  of  G.  W.  Childs — 
"  Familiar  Astronomy,"  8vo.,  illustrated. 

This  firm  engaged  the  learned  and  able  lawyer  and 
Chief  Justice  of  the  Pennsylvania  Supreme  Court,  the 
Hon.  Judge  Sharswood,  to  edit  Blackstone's  "  Com- 
mentaries of  the  Laws  of  England."  The  book  to-day 
stands  as  the  ablest  among  our  law  books.  It  has 
been  a  source  of  great  profit,  both  to  author  and  pub- 
lishers. 

I  am  not  sure  of  the  precise  time  that  Mr.  Peterson 
retired  from  business,  and  left  it  solely  in  the  hands  of 
Mr.  Childs,  but  it  was  after  Mr.  Childs  married  the 
daughter  of  Mr.  Peterson. 

The  store  at  Fifth  and  Arch  streets  was  vacated  after 
the  old  book  business  was  closed  out,  and  Mr.  Childs 
removed  to  Chestnut  street,  below  Seventh  street,  east 


32  FORTY  YEARS  AMONG 

side,  in   the  second   story,  and   there  continued  the 
publications  of  the  old  firm. 

At  this  time  Mr.  Childs  published  his  first  almanac 
[186-i],  almost  similar  to  the  well-known  American 
Almanac  published  for  many  years  in  Boston.  This 
almanac  was  carefully  compiled  by  Wm.  V.  McKean,  / 
the  now  accomplished  editor  of  the  Public  Ledger.  Mr. 
Childs  showed  his  usual  sagacity  in  selecting  Mr. 
McKean  to  superintend  his  literary  bureau,  and  his 
good  judgment  was  further  confirmed  in  selecting  him 
as  the  editor  of  the  Public  Ledger  at  the  time  it  was 
purchased  from  Mr.  Swain  by  Childs  and  Drexel. 
I  am  not  sure  how  long  Mr.  Childs  carried  on  his 
business  in  Chestnut  street;  but  about  1861,  when  the 
war  of  the  Eebellion  was  opened,  he  entered  into 
partnership  with  J.  B.  Lippincott  &  Co.,  the  exten- 
sive publishers  of  this  city.  This  partnership  did  not 
continue  very  long,  and  I  presume  the  cause  of  it  was 
the  purchase  of  the  Public  Ledger  from  Mr.  Swain  by 
him  and  Anthony  Drexel.  The  Public  Ledger  was 
at  that  time  published  at  the  southwest  corner  of 
Third  and  Chestnut  streets,  and  afterwards  removed 
to  its  present  location,  southwest  corner  of  Sixth  and  ^ 
Chestnut  streets.  At  the  time  of  the  purchase  of  the 
Public  Ledger  it  was  issued  for  one  cent  a  copy.  The 
progress  of  the  late  war  was  hastening  on,  and  in  its 
tracks  every  commodity  was  raised  in  price,  especially 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  33 

all  matters  coDnected  with  the  cotton  crop  in  the 
South,  which  was  totally  cut  off  from  the  northern 
States.  Paper  of  every  description  was  scarce,  its  rise 
in  price  was  phenomenal,  and  as  a  consequence  all 
newspapers  had  to  increase  the  price  of  the  daily 
issue.  The  Public  Ledger  was  raised  from  one  cent  to 
its  present  price,  two  cents.  I  will  relate  an  instance 
of  the  extraordinary  rise  in  the  price  of  old  paper. 
/^I  think  it  was  in  1862  ;  I  was  changing  a  great  part  of 
my  old  book  business  into  a  circulating  library,  and 
in  order  to  do  this  I  had  a  stock  of  books  that  must 
be  sold  to  make  room  for  my  library.  Old  paper  was 
then  bringing  a  high  price,  eight  cents  per  pound  with  ^  6**^ 
the  covers  on.  The  book  trade  was  in  a  state  of 
paralysis,  all  dull  except  war  articles.  I  had  a  very 
fine  collection  of  old  folios  and  quartos,  and  many 
good  books,  and  did  not  feel  like  sending  them  to  the 
paper  mill  even  at  that  price,  eight  cents  a  pound.  I 
ordered  a  furniture  car,  and  in  it  I  sent  two  tons  of 
books  to  be  sold  at  auction  by  Thomas  &  Son.  When 
I  had  got  the  wagon  emptied  of  the  books,  I  went  to 
the  office  to  get  an  advance  of  money  on  them.  They 
very  reluctantly  said  they  would  like  to  oblige  me, 
but  books  were  bringing  no  prices,  and  they  would 
decline  making  any  advances ;  but  if  so  much  money 
would  answer  (I  forget  the  amount),  they  would  ad- 
vance it.  The  sum  of  money  was  so  small  that  I 
8 


34  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

ordered  the  books  to  be  taken  away  and  sent  to  an 
old  paper  store.  There  I  sold  them  at  eight  cents  per 
pound,  $75  more  than  Thomas  &  Son  would  advance 
on  them.  The  same  kind  of  books  in  the  same  con- 
\  dition  to-day,  only  bring  one-half  a  cent  'per  'pound. 
At  the  time  the  Public  Ledger  was  bought  by 
Childs  and  Drexel  it  was  in  an  effete  condition ;  the 
late  owner  had  so  neglected  its  interests  that  it  was  in 
a  state  of  coma  from  paralysis,  and  it  required  the 
energy  and  push  of  a  Childs  to  resuscitate  it.  By  the 
energy  and  good  management  of  Childs  it  gradually 
rose  pha3nix-like  from  the  ashes  of  decay,  and  soon 
took  its  position  as  one  of  the/?'rs^  daily  family  neivs- 
papers  in  the  loorld.  The  Public  Ledger  is  a  family 
necessity  in  this  city ;  its  high  moral  tone,  its  nega- 
'*'■  tion   of  condimented    sensationalism,  renders    it   an 

authority  on  all  the  current  topics  of  the  day. 

W.  A.  LEARY. 

This  old  bookseller  was  among  the  earliest  of  this 
century  in  this  city,  and  is  well  remembered  by  the 
.  older  citizens  as  being  located  at  Second  and   New 

streets.     Forty   years   ago    Second   street   was    what  '• 
Eighth  street  is  now,  the  chief  business  street  in  the 
city.     From  South  to  Poplar  street  stores  of  every 
kind  sold  their  wares — full  of  energy  and  life  ;   it  was 
the  chief  resort  for  farmers    from  every  part  of  our 


'Uyi 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS,  35 

suburbs  and  New  Jersey.  When  the  Warnocks  Jirst 
commenced  an  active  business  in  N.  Eighth  street, 
about  1848,  a  new  impetus  was  given  to  it,  and  the 
gradual  decay  of  Second  street  may  be  fairly  dated 
v^from  that  period. 

Mr.  Leary  was  a  short,  stout  man,  persevering  and 
industrious  in  his  habits,  though  by  no  means  an  edu- 
cated man.  He  dealt  in  books  as  a  grocer  deals  in 
sugar  and  candles,  more  by  weight  than  from  any  in- 
trinsic value ;  in  fact,  he  did  not  know  anything  about 
the  bibliographical  qualities  of  books,  he  never  pre- 
tended to  know,  and  for  this  admission  we  must  ac- 
cord him  due  credit. 

After  he  had  been  fairly  successful  in  selling  old 
books  he  went  into  partnership  with  a  Mr.  Getz,  and  <^ 
begun  the  publication  of  books  suitable  for  pedlars— 
^  the  trade  called  his  books  "  Leary's  Bricks,"  because 
they  were  printed  on  thick  paper  and  dumpy  in  ap- 
pearance. For  some  years  this  firm  continued  selling 
to  pedlars  and  others,  but  from  some  cause  it  suc- 
cumbed to  a  pressure,  and  the  firm  went  out  of 
existence,  leaving  no  profitable  results.  Mr.  Leary 
was  fortunate  in  saving  some  of  the  wreckage  suffi- 
cient to  live  on  in  a  respectable  manner.  He  was  a 
very  genial  man,  and  spent  the  latter  years  of  his  life 
in  a  very  modest  manner.  He  died  at  a  ripe  old  age 
a  few  years  ago. 


36  FORTY  YEARS  AMONG 

PAINE. 

Mr.  Paine  kept  a  book  store  with  a  book  stand  on 
South  Second  street  near  Noble  street.  His  stock  was 
not  large.  He  dealt  in  school  books,  and  sold  any  old 
miscellaneous  books  he  could  purchase.  He  was  a 
very  kind  man,  but  did  not  know  much  about  the 
value  of  old  books. 

JOHN  CAMPBELL. 

He  was  probably  better  known  among  old  book 
buyers  than  any  book-seller  of  his  day.  He  first  com- 
menced a  book  store  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Sixth  j^ 
and  Chestnut  streets  (State  House),  about  1849. 
Previous  to  this  he  was  a  weaver,  but  always  a  reader, 
John  was  far  better  educated  than  any  old  book-seller 
of  his  day.  His  nature  was  brusque  and  fearless,  and 
had  the  characteristics  of  his  Irish  countrymen — acted 
first  and  thought  qfternards. 

His  public  life  first  commenced  in  England.  He 
was  an  extreme  Chartist  and  fiery  Kevolutionist ;  so 
active  was  he  among  the  English  Chartists  in  Man- 
chester, that  he  was  made  treasurer  of  the  Chartist 
Society  for  all  England.  Any  one  by  looking  over 
the  newspapers  of  that  day  will  find  his  name  along 
with  Feargus  O'Conner,  Bronterre  O'Brien,  and  other 
leaders. 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  87 

I  never  heard  the  precise  reason  why  he  suddenly 
left  England  for  this  country:  it  may  have  been 
political.  England  was  in  a  very  feverish  state  at  that 
time,  and  many  of  the  Chartists  were  imprisoned  for 
using  seditious  language. 

When  he  arrived  here  he  at  once  pushed  with  re- 
sislJless  energy  into  political  and  religious  disputes,  and 
soon  became  a  marked  man  among  the  most  violent 
of  extremists.  Often  have  I  been  with  him  in  So- 
cieties where  extreme  views  were  debated.  The 
slavery  question  years  before  the  late  war  was  an  ex- 
citing one,  a  prolonged  and  fierce  debate  was  held  in 
the  Franklin  Hall  in  South  Sixth  street  near  Arch 
early  in  the  fifties ;  I  took  an  active  interest  in  it,  but 
John  Campbell  was  the  fiery  antagonist  of  the  poor 
African.  His  views  he  afterwards  elaborated  in 
^^  Negromania^^''  a  violent  and  one-sided  diatribe. 
The  book  did  not  meet  with  public  favor,  and  was 
the  cause  of  financial  embarrassment.  He  also  pub- 
lished a  small  book  on  Liberty^  the  exact  title  I  for- 
get. Its  advocacy  is  strongly  in  favor  of  Eobespierre 
and  all  the  French  Revolutionists  of  1793.  His  views 
on  religious  matters,  both  written  and  oral,  were  very 
extreme ;  though  brought  up  a  Catholic,  he  advocated 
atheism  and  infidelity  in  their  wildest  forms,  but  after 
years  of  more  matured  experience,  he  changed  his 
views  and  died  in  the  faith  of  the  Catholic  Church. 


38  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

His  old  book  business  consisted  chiefly  in  law  books, 
and  in  course  of  time  he  acquired  a  good  knowledge 
of  the  bibliography  of  law  books.  He  published  a 
number  of  new  law  books,  and  judging  from  results, 
added  little  either  financially  or  otherwise.  Political 
influence  caused  him  to  be  removed  from  Chestnut 
street,  and  in  connection  with  Powers  he  moved  to 
Fifth  street  above  Chestnut  street.  There  he  did  not 
continue  long,  but  by  political  influence  he  again  / 
moved,  and  was  granted  the  right  to  locate  a  book 
stand  in  front  of  the  present  Custom  House,  and  next  / 
to  the  Western  bank.  His  next  move,  after  a  few 
years — whether  from  political  causes  or  not — was  from 
there  into  the  basement  of  what  then  was  the  bank  of  ^ 
Pennsylvania,  and  nearly  opposite  the  Custom  House. 
In  this  basement,  about  the  year  1861,  when  the  late 
war  had  fairly  commenced,  his  store  became  the 
centre  for  hot-headed  Democrats,  who  opposed  the  '^ 
government  in  its  action  in  arresting  malcontents  and 
opposers  of  government  action.  Many  arrests  were 
made,  and  a  number  of  them  were  imprisoned  who 
became  violent  in  their  opposition  to  the  government. 
Then  came  the  issue  of  habeas  corpus.  Pamphlets 
were  issued  by  the  dozen  in  favor  of  habeas  corpus. 
John  Campbell's  store  was  the  hotbed  of  this  clique  of 
men.  Pamphlets  were  issued  from  this  centre,  and  it 
became   widely   known    through   the    country,   and 


vA 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  S9 

gained  the  sympathy  and  encouragement  of  the 
Copperheads  generally.  Campbell  had  the  courage  of 
his  opinions,  and  violently  advocated  his  right  and 
the  benefit  of  his  acts.  It  may  be  said  that  this 
action  was  in  entire  harmony  with  his  political  career 
in  England.  In  a  short  time  this  habeas  corpus  ceased, 
and  business  again  ran  in  the  ordinary  channels;  money 
became  abundant,  business  became  brisk,  and  the  de- 
sire for  purchasing  books  increased.  Campbell  was  a 
pushing  man  ;  he  soon  took  the  lines  of  his  surround- 
ings, and  was  one  of  the  heaviest  buyers  of  books  at 
auction.  John's  burly  figure  was  always  expected 
there,  and  soon  his  sonorous  voice  was  heard  above 
all  others.  If  any  one  chanced  to  bid  against  him, 
woe  to  the  bidder ;  John  would  again  raise  his  sonor- 
ous voice  to  a  higher  pitch,  and  advance  the  price  in 
such  a  vigorous  tone  that  a  laugh  or  a  titter  would 
ring  through  the  room.  I  was  once  there  when  a 
copy — a  very  fine  one — of  Dibdin's  Bibliomaniac  was 
ofiered.  A  fine,  scholarly-looking  gentleman  was 
there — evidently  came  to  buy  this  fine  copy.  He  was 
seated  close  by  John.  He  had  the  temerity  to  bid 
against  him.  John  turned  his  lion-like  face  towards, 
and  scowled  at  him,  John  at  once  bid  §5  over  the 
last  bid  the  gentleman  made.  But  he  was  not  to  be 
browbeaten  out  of  his  book ;  another  $5  was  bid. 
John  bid  $5,  and  it  was  knocked  down  to  him.     I  for> 


40  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

get  the  exact  price,  but  it  was  more  than  double  what 
it  could  have  been  imported  from  England  for.  This 
conduct  was  his  usual  one  at  auction. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  he  was,  in  the  fullest  sense  of 
the  word,  a  man  well  posted  in  book  lore,  outside  of 
law  books.  His  life  was  not  that  of  a  student,  yet 
possessing  a  more  general  knowledge  of  literature  ;  but 
was  more  of  the  boisterous  politician.  His  sales  of 
books  to  his  customers  were  as  indiscreet  in  many 
cases  as  the  purchase  of  them  at  auction.  I  have  seen 
him,  when  anxious  to  make  a  sale,  show  his  purchase 
bills  to  his  customer,  in  order  to  make  the  sale. 

He  removed  from  the  basement  of  the  bank  in 
Chestnut  street  to  Sansom  street  near  Eighth  street, 
where  one  of  his  sons  still  continues  the  business. 
Some  twenty-five  years  ago,  there  was  a  rage  among 
old  book  buyers  for  Reprints  of  old  scarce  books. 
John  got  the  fever,  and  he  published  some  of  them ; 
but  ere  long  the  fever  died  out,  and  John  had  many 
that  were  left  unsold — whether  they  are  all  sold  now 
or  not  I  don't  know. 

There  seems  to  be  a  time  when  crotchets  appear  in 
almost  everything.  Crazes  or  hobbies  arise  from 
remote  causes.  Change  in  costume  is  almost  uni- 
versal. South  Sea  schemes,  the  rage  some  years 
ago  for  Dutch  tulips  —  all  evince  some  latent  in- 
stinct in  human  nature.     The  book  craze  for   a  few 


THE    OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  41 

years  past  has  been,  and  still  is,  fashionable  both  here 
and  in  Europe — the  desire  for  first  editions.  Every 
cultivated  reader  knows  too  well  that,  in  a  literary 
sense,  ihe  first  editions  are  the  most  imperfect  of  any 
author's  work.  The  reason  is  plain  and  obvious: 
human  nature  is  always  imperfect — authors  follow 
the  rule,  and  it  is  rare  when  a  second  edition  is 
issued  that  the  imperfections  of  the  author  in  i\iQ  first 
edition  are  not  pointed  out  and  altered,  and  some 
additions  made. 

It  is  to  the  interest  of  old  booksellers  that  such 
senseless  crazes  exist;  but  as  a  true  cultivated  scholar, 
his  sense  of  right  condemns  and  censures  such  useless 
fancies.  It  is  right  that  National  Libraries  should 
collect  and  store  away  those  precious  thoughts,  both 
as  to  specimens  of  the  immaturity  of  the  author's 
thoughts  and  as  specimens  of  workmanship,  which 
varies  in  every  age. 

This  craze  for  first  editions  of  living  authors  has 
arisen  since  John  Campbell  died  ;  had  it  been  in  exist- 
ence during  his  lifetime,  he  would  have  been  as  deep 
in  it  as  the  most  ardent.  The  craze  seems  to  be  pass- 
ing away  for  first  editions  of  living  authors,  at  least  of 
mediocre  books;  but  those  of  men  like  the  divine 
Shakespeare  will  ever  live  and  be  in  demand. 


\? 


42  FORTY  YEARS   AMONG 

JOHN  WOOD. 

^  This  old  bookseller  merits  but  a  short  notice.  He 
liad  his  store  on  South  Eighth  street,  near  Jayne  street. 
He  had  a  fair  collection  of  old  books  for  sale,  but  he 
knew  as  much  about  the  character  of  the  books  as  the 
books  knew  about  him.  He  was  there  for  a  few  years, 
and  succumbed  to  the  pressure  of  the  times.     He  was 

\  an  Irishman. 

PATRICK  LYNCH. 

^  He  had  a  small  old  book  store.  He  did  but  little 
business.  He  was  the  agent  for  the  Boston  Pilot,  the 
chief  organ  of  the  Roman  Catholics  at  that  time.  He 
was  a  good  fellow,  and  much  respected  among  his 
Irish  countrymen  and  others  of  his  faith.     Patrick  is 

V  dead. 

HUGH  HAMEL. 
V  This  old  bookseller  kept  his  store  on  South  Tenths 
street,  next  to  the  Mercantile  Library.  He  was  there 
for  many  years,  and  had  a  large  and  good  stock  of  old 
books  for  sale.  He  had  risen  from  a  mere  peddler  of 
books,  and  by  dint  of  perseverance,  collected  them  as 
a  junk  dealer  collects  his  rubbish.  He  was  probably 
the  most  ignorant  of  all  the  old  booksellers  in  this 
city.  At  one  time  he  could  not  write  his  own  name. 
Whether  he  acquired  this  accomplishment  afterwards 


THE   OLD  BOOKSELLERS.  48 

I  know  not.  He  was  in  appearance  a  thick-set,  low- 
looking,  vulgar  Irishman ;  and  it  is  to  be  regretted 
that  the  latter  years  of  his  life  were  as  much  devoted 
to  stimulants  as  to  his  business.  When  he  died,  his 
business  died  also. 

PETER  DOYLE. 

He  was  a  man  of  much  culture,  with  a  refined  taste ; 
his  personal  appearance  was  somewhat  peculiar.  He 
was,  in  physique,  rather  small ;  delicate  frame,  with  a 
large  head  and  a  peculiar  cast  in  his  eye.  His  face 
bore  a  studious  aspect — pale  and  full  of  thought.  A 
cast  of  melancholy,  somewhat  Hamlet-like,  struck  you 
on  first  impression.  He  was  the  most  silent  bookseller 
I  ever  met ;  only  his  most  intimate  friends  could  in- 
fluence him  in  any  prolonged  conversation.  He  had 
his  books  carefully  arranged,  and  when  rare  or  valua- 
ble he  wrote  the  most  beautiful  chirography  and  suit- 
able descriptions  I  ever  read.  He  was  well  posted  in 
general  literature,  and  had  a  fair  knowledge  of  the 
bibliographical  character  of  his  books.  So  silent  and 
so  very  soft  in  his  conversation,  that  the  book  had 
really  to  sell  itself.  If  you  asked  for  a  book  and  he 
had  it,  he  would  silently  give  it  to  you  and  point  to 
the  price,  which  as  a  rule  was  higher  in  price  than 
any  other  bookseller  in  the  city.  No  other  effort  to 
sell  was  made.   He  was  always  coldly  courteous  to  you, 


44  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

and  the  reticent  gentlemen  was  always  to  be  seen  in 
him.  His  window  was  always  filled  with  choice  and 
rare  editions,  and  often  some  choice  work  of  art. 

The  general  appearance  of  his  stock  of  books  bore 
the  impress  of  the  connoisseur  and  refined  scholar,  and 
a  genuine  literary  flavor  pervaded  his  whole  store. 
For  several  years  he  lived  a  bachelor's  life  and  kept 
his  store  in  North  Tenth  street  near  the  Mercantile 
Library.  It  was  the  resort  of  the  black-letter  scholars  -f^ 
of  his  day.  I  have  been  informed  his  name  was 
originally  D'Oyley,  a  French  name,  and  that  his 
family  was  originally  French.  This  may  be  so,  but 
it  sounds  very  Irish. 

Dr.  Evans,  dentist,  formerly  of  this  city  but  who  for 
many  years  has  lived  in  Paris,  and  became  promi- 
nently known  as  dentist  to  Napoleon  the  III.,  and 
whose  conduct  and  gallantry  to  the  Empress  Eugenie 
when  she  was  fleeing  from  Paris  when  the  Commun- 
ists had  full  sway,  and  whose  life  they  were  seeking 
like  that  of  her  unfortunate  predecessor.  Queen 
Antionette,  wife  of  Louis  the  XVI. — he,  Dr.  Evans, 
was  by  marriage  a  relative  of  Peter  Doyle,  and  it  is 
said  in  the  later  years  of  his  life  that  he  saw  to  his 
comforts.  Some  few  years  ago  Peter  Doyle  offered 
his  fine  stock  of  books  for  sale.  Arrangements  to  this 
effect  were  made,  and  the  stock  of  books  were  trans- 
ferred, part  in  cash  and  part  in  notes,  to  a  late  book- 


THE   OLD  BOOKSELLERS.  45 

seller.  The  notes  were  partly  paid,  and  Peter  Doyle 
took  a  part  of  his  stock,  a  mere  remnant,  and  again 
opened  a  store  for  the  sale  of  old  books. 

The  sale  of  his  fine  stock  of  books  was  a  very  un- 
fortunate affair  to  Peter  Doyle,  and  there  can  be  but 
little  doubt  that  it  hastened  the  close  of  his  eccentric 
but  high  moral  life.  He  was  a  man  easily  duped,  and 
many  cases  are  known  where  designing  knaves  took 
advantage  of  his  generosity.  One  morning  he  was 
found  dead  in  his  store,  unattended  and  uncared  for. 
Peace  to  his  ashes. 

BROWN  BROTHERS 

Kept  for  several  years  an  old  book  store,  I  think  at 
the  northwest  corner  of  Fourth  and  Arch  streets. 
One  of  the  brothers  was  employed  in  the  book  de- 
partment of  Thomas  &  Sons,  auctioneers,  and  had  the 
best  chances  of  purchasing  old  books  of  any  booksel- 
lers in  the  city.  This  advantage  was  well  used,  and 
enabled  the  brothers  to  have  a  fine  collection  of  books 
in  their  store.  The  brother  with  Thomas  &  Sons  ac- 
quired bad  habits — too  fond  of  stimulants — and  he 
died  in  a  few  years  after  the  store  was  opened.  The 
other  brother,  who  was  a  kind  and  genial  man,  after 
the  death  of  his  brother,  removed  the  stock  some- 
where out  in  Iowa,  and  whether  he  is  dead  or  not  I 
have  not  heard. 


46  FORTY   YEARS  AMONG 

JAMES  BARR. 
He  was  a  kindly,  good  man.  He  kept  an  old  book 
store  with  varieties  for  sale  on  Market  street,  near 
Eleventh  street,  south  side.  Here  he  did  a  good  busi- 
ness; but  improvements  in  building  a  new  store 
pressed  him,  and  he  was  compelled  to  remove.  His 
next  store  was  in  Market  street,  near  Tenth  street, 
and  here  sold  old  books  and  new  ones.  He  was 
a  sincere  Methodist,  and  sold  Methodist  books,  and 
also  stationery.  The  latter  years  of  his  life  were 
very  chequered  ones,  and  *he  died  poor,  but  highly 
respected. 

JOSEPH  SABIN. 
When  I  first  knew  Joseph  Sabin  it  was  in  1848  ; 
he  was  then  a  salesman  for  Appleton  &  Co.,  in  their 
store  on  Chesnut  street  below  Seventh  street,  south 
side.  The  first  book  imported  from  England  was 
through  him.  The  Appletons,  about  1850,  removed 
their  stock  to  New  York,  and  I  suppose  Sabin  went 
with  them.  How  long  he  continued  with  them  I 
know  not ;  he  was  for  several  years  in  New  York,  and 
about  1860,  or  previous  to  that  year,  he  came  to  my 
store,  then  218  S.  Eighth  street,  and,  in  his  usual  satur- 
nine manner,  asked  me  if  I  thought  another  old  book 
store  in  this  city  would  succeed.    I  said  that  depended 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  47 

on  SO  many  conditions  that  I  could  not  answer  that 
question.  He  then  said  he  had  a  store  in  New  York 
city,  and  purposed  to  move  the  stock  here.  He  did  so, 
and  opened  a  store  in  what  was  called  then  Hart's 
building,  in  Sixth  street  above  Chestnut  street.  I 
went  to  see  his  stock  of  old  books,  but  they  were  not 
remarkable  either  in  quantity  or  in  quality. 

He  entered  into  his  new  store  with  vigor  and 
energy,  and  soon  became  the  chief  buyer  at  Thomas 
and  Son's  auction  store.  For  a  few  years  he  and  John 
Campbell  were  the  principal  buyers,  and  few  buyers 
could  purchase  books  except  Sabin  and  Campbell. 
Jennings  the  auctioneer  seemed  to  favor  them  when 
opportunity  ofiered.  The  consequence  was  that  as 
credit  was  freely  given,  Sabin  soon  had  a  fine  stock 
of  books,  the  finest  in  the  city  at  that  time.  Sabin 
was  the  connoisseur  among  old  book  buyers,  and  a  fine 
business  was  the  result.  Had  his  rectitude  been 
equal  to  his  ability,  none  could  have  surpassed  him  in 
his  business.  One  fine  morning  his  store  was  closed 
and  his  whereabouts  was  not  known.  Jennings,  of 
Thomas  &  Son's,  who  had  credited  him  with  several 
thousand  dollars,  was  soon  on  the  alert,  and  found  all 
the  books  had  been  shipped  to  New  York.  He  at 
once  went  there,  replevined  them,  and  had  them  sent 
to  their  auction  store  and  sold  on  their  account.  This 
ended  Sabin's  career  in   this  city.     He  remained  in 


48  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

New  York,  commenced  the  auction  business,  and 
failed  in  that.  His  next  move  was,  he  bought  an  old 
book  store  out  in  Nassau  street,  and  for  many  years 
did  well.  He  was  the  chief  authority  among  old 
buyers,  and  well  he  deserved  the  opinion  of  all  in  that 
line.  His  business  was  so  large  that  he  could  not  fail 
to  have  made  a  fortune  even  with  the  commonest 
prudence.  He  became  the  authority  on  all  important 
book  sales.  He  sold  the  celebrated  library  of  W.  E. 
Burton  and  other  well-known  libraries.  In  fact,  if 
an  important  sale  of  books  in  New  York  took  place, 
Sabin  was  the  man  that  was  engaged  to  compile  the 
catalogue  and  manage  the  sale.  He  was  thoroughly 
competent  to  do  this,  and  the  amount  of  money  he 
made  in  ten  years  must  have  been  sufficient  to  keep 
his  family  in  fair  condition,  but  alas !  it  did  not. 
Where  it  went  none  knows. 

Some  years  ago  he  commenced  to  collect  matter 
for  an  American  Bibliography.  Kich's  ^'■American 
Bibltoyrapliy,^^  and  Stevens'  "  Nuggets,''^  are  excellent 
books,  indispensable  for  the  American  student ;  but 
like  all  other  books  of  this  class,  very  deficient.  This 
idea  of  Sabin's  is  a  good  one.  He  started  his  ^^Ameri- 
can  Bihlioyraphy  "  and  published  it  in  volumes.  It  is 
not  yet  finished.  He  obtained  subscriptions  for  it 
and  got  many.  Trubner  of  London  had  a  lawsuit 
with  him  about  this  book.     He  seemed  to  have  the 


THE   OLD  BOOKSELLERS.  49 

faculty  of  creating  wrangles  with  every  one  he  had 
business  with,  and  I  presume  this  was  the  cause  of  him 
losing  the  vast  amount  of  money  he  had  made  in  his 
legitimate  business. 
ri^^    His  Dictionary  of  America  is  valuable  in  collecting 
from  all  sources  whatever  that  has  appeared  published 
on   America ;   but   the   useless  remarks,  unscholarly 
criticism,  and  a  malevolent  and  saturnine  spirit  per- 
meate the  whole  of  the  volumes,  destroy  the  valuable 
portion,  and  produce  a  certain  nausea  among  those 
\  that  are  likely  to  use  it.     If  Sabin  had  taken  for  his 
'  models  such   men   as   Brunet  or   Lowndes,  his  book 
would  have  been  admired  by  bibliographers  rather 
than  censured. 
[       The  issue   of    this  book  caused  several  lawsuits. 
1   Trubner  and  Quaritch  of  London  were  involved,  and 
large  sums  of  money  were  lost  in  the  contest.     Failure 
-  after  failure  were  the  consequences  of  his  conduct,  and 
it  is  to  be  regretted  that  some  of  his  sons,  who  are 
now  selling  books  in  London,  have  suffered  from  such 
erratic  management. 

Joseph  Sabin  was  an  Englishman,  and  from  his 
youth  brought  up  as  a  bookseller.  I  have  stated  that 
when  a  young  man  he  was  a  salesman  in  this  city  for 
the  Appletons.  He  had  rare  business  tact,  a  love  for 
old  books,  more  in  a  mercantile  sense  than  for  possess- 
ing any  general  knowledge  of  their  contents.  He  was 
4 


50  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

not  a  cultured  man,  and  therefore  not  a  reading  man. 
He  could  not  shine  in  literary  conversation,  but  you 
would  admire  him  for  his  vast  fund  of  catalogue 
knowledge,  a  skeletonized  idea  of  what  books  con- 
tained. 

SCANLAN. 
lie  was  a  clear-headed  and  conscientious  man,  an 
Irishman  by  birth,  and  had  a  fair  knowledge  of  English 
literature.  He  was  an  earnest  man,  with  very  strong 
Eoman  Catholic  views  on  religion.  Though  seem- 
ingly tolerant  to  others  who  differed  with  him,  yet 
below  the  surface  you  could  see  mirrored  the  Catholic 
of  the  middle  ages.  He  had  a  select  stock  of  good 
books  chiefly  reflecting  the  opinions  of  the  Eoman 
church.  He  had  a  specialty  in  Spanish  books,  and 
his  store  on  Fifth  street  below  Chestnut  was  well 
known  to  the  book  hunter.  He  retired  from  business 
and  died  a  few  years  ago. 

MOSES  POLOCK. 

He  was  brought  up  in  the  business  of  book-selling 
in  the  now  extinct  firm  of  McCarthy  &  Davis,  at  their 
store  in  Market  street  near  Fourth  street,  north  side. 
McCarthy  retired  from  the  firm  some  years  before 
Davis  brothers  died,  whom  I  knew  well  as  fine  speci- 
-raens  of  business  men  of  former  years.     This  firm 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  51 

published  many  fine  books,  British  Drama,  Shake- 
speare, and  many  law  books.  Their  chief  business 
was  wholesale,  and  was  successful  in  making  money. 
Moses  PoJock  became  their  chief  business  man,  and 
when  the  Davis  s  died,  he  was  made  their  executor,  a 
great  compliment  for  a  young  man  not  more  than  30 
years  of  age.  He  was  instructed  to  close  the  business, 
and  I  recollect  well  that  the  stock  of  books,  which 
were  very  large,  were  sold  at  auction  by  Thomas  & 
Sons,  when  they  occupied  the  now  rear  end  of  Wana- 
maker's  store,  southeast  corner  of  Sixth  and  Market 
streets.  The  stock  was  very  large,  but  it  was  all  sold 
except  what  Moses  Polock  bought  in,  and  with  this 
stock  of  books  he  commenced  the  old  book  business 
in  Commerce  street  below  Fifth  street  (second  story), 
where  he  still  can  be  found.  His  store  is  well 
filled  with  many  rare  books,  which  he  has  unpreten- 
tiously and  quietly  added  the  last  forty  years.  Some 
years  ago  he  published  Brockden  Brown's  works  in 
seven  volumes,  i\\&  first  American  novelist ;  but  I  am 
inclined  to  think  as  a  business  speculation  it  was  a 
failure.  The  library  of  Professor  Reed,  who  was  lost 
in  the  steamer  Arctic  over  thirty  years  ago,  he  bought 
of  the  family,  and  in  it  were  many  fine  books.  The 
Roxborough  Club  books,  a  rare  collection  of  early 
English  reprints,  were  in  this  library.  I  presume 
Mo86a  Polock  was  and  is  in  a  fair  comfortable  condi- 


52  FORTY   YEARS   AMOXG 

tion,  because  he  made  little  exertion  as  a  business 
man  to  sell  his  books,  and  because  his  prices  are  and 
were  always  fanciful.  •  At  any  time  after  10  o'clock 
in  the  morning  you  can  ascend  to  his  store ;  there  you 
will  find  him  bachelor-like  all  alone  in  his  glory, 
breathing  the  atmosphere  of  his  old  books.  He  will 
meet  you  in  the  most  genial  manner,  and  will  talk  to 
you  about  his  gems  in  the  most  intelligent  spirit. 
There  is  but  one  exception  I  know  of  to  this.  He 
once  sold  for  $16  "The  Laws  of  New  York," 
printed  by  W.  Bradford,  a  good  price  at  that  time; 
but  the  same  copy  was  sold  in  the  Brindley's  Collec- 
tion of  Americana  at  auction  for  $1600.  The  men- 
tion of  this  fact  operates  on  Polock's  mind  as  if  he 
had  taken  bitter  gall  for  his  breakfast.  He  has  a  rare 
early  knowledge  of  men  in  the  book  business  for  the 
last  forty  years ;  but  being  a  very  reticent  and  diffi- 
dent man,  I  am  afraid  those  of  the  city  will  lose  a 
charming  lot  of  history  about  book- sellers,  publishers 
and  books.  He  is  still  in  his  old  place,  ever  ready  to 
do  business  with  you,  but  is  seldom  visited  except 
some  old  book- worm  wants  some  very  scarce  book  or 
pamphlet. 

JOHN   HUNT. 

Some  twenty-five  years  ago,  this  brusque  English- 
man kept  a  book  stand  at  the  southeast  corner  of 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  53 

Sixth  and  Arch  streets,  and  was  very  energetic  and 
pushing  in  business.  He  also  peddled  books  through  lirJ 
the  country  in  a  wagon.  He  seemed  to  do  a  thriving 
business  for  several  years ;  but  all  is  not  gold  that 
glitters.  His  stock  was  seized  and  sold  for  the  bene- 
fit of  his  creditors.     He  still  lives  in  Camden,   N.  J. 

JARRETT. 

This  energetic  Englishman  had  a  book  stand  at  the 
northeast  corner  of  Sixth  and  Market  streets  for  a  few 
years.  His  stock  of  books  were  few  in  number,  and 
many  of  them  were  sold  on  commission.  He  did  not 
keep  the  store  very  long,  but  afterwards  went  to  the 
present  Leary's  book  store  in  Ninth  street  near  Market 
street ;  and  there  for  several  years  he  could  be  found 
at  the  outside  stand  selling  books.  In  appearance  he 
was  of  small  stature,  nervous  in  his  actions,  but  ac- 
commodating in  his  manners.  He  was  a  man  of  more 
than  average  intellect,  always  fond  of  books,  and  his 
long  experience  in  selling  them  gave  him  a  large 
amount  of  book  knowledge  which  was  always  pre- 
sented free  gratis  to  every  book  buyer.  He  died  a 
few  years  ago. 

EMANUEL  PRICE  (Peter  Peppercorn). 

To  omit  to  portray  this  singular  character  among 
the  galaxy  of  old-book  sellers,  would  be  as  absurd  as 


54  FORTY   YEARS   AM0N6 

acting  the  play  of  Hamlet  without  the  personnel  of 
Hamlet.  It  is  over  forty  years  ago  when  1  first  knew 
him  ;  he  was  then  porter  in  a  wholesale  drug  store  on 
Market  street  above  Sixth  street,  north  side.  He  then 
had  just  arrived  from  England,  and  he  has  told  me 
since  that  when  he  came  here  he  had  a  very  limited 
education — he  could  read,  but  not  write.  He  saw  the 
importance  and  value  of  writing,  even  in  his  humble 
position  of  porter,  and  he  resolved  to  learn  to  write ; 
and  the  use  of  his  caustic  pen  is  well  known  in  our 
newspaper  literature.  During  the  late  civil  war  his 
doggerel  rhymes  were  well  known  for  their  bitterness 
and  causticity.  He  wrote  a  parody  on  Sheridan's  ride 
which  he  acknowledged  literally  killed  him.  He  was 
a  modern  Hudibras,  and  cut  and  slashed  everything 
and  every  one  that  he  deemed  worthy  of  notice.  His 
various  lucubrations  have  been  collected  and  printed 
and  published  in  one  volume  by  Rees,  Welsh  &  Co., 
the  law  booksellers  on  South  Ninth  street,  above 
Chestnut  street.  The  chief  value  of  the  book  consists 
in  its  being  a  sardonic  satire  of  the  times.  Wit  and 
humor  flashes  out  of  it  here  and  there,  that  some  fu- 
ture local  historian  may  quote  a  century  hence. 

I  do  not  remember  the  year,  nor  the  store  where  he 
first  began  selling  books,  but  it  may  be  not  less  than 
fifteen  years  ago.  Then  he  was  with  Rees  Welsh  & 
Co.,  who  at  that  time  sold   miscellaneous  and   law 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  55 

books.  This  firm  sood  found  that  he  was  to  them  a 
very  valuable  man,  and  he  was  given  the  chief  posi- 
tion in  the  store.  He  was  their  chief  buyer  for  many 
years,  and  discharged  his  duties  well  and  faithfully. 
He  soon  acquired  by  experience  and  his  quickness  of 
intellect  a  rare  knowledge  of  books,  second  to  none  in 
any  book  store  in  this  city.  I  do  not  know  of  one  • 
old-book  seller  in  this  city  that  is  his  equal  in  the 
general  knowledge  of  books.  He  possesses  a  varied 
fitness  for  such  a  position ;  he  is  pleasant  in  his  ad- 
dress ;  sometimes  too  querulous  in  his  conversation, 
but  always  very  entertaining  when  talking  about 
books. 

When  I  first  knew  him  his  penchant  was  botany. 
In  his  spare  hours  from  his  work  he  would  go  into  the 
fields,  then  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city,  away  down  into 
the  Neck,  as  it  is  called  ;  there  he  would  feast  on  the 
various  plants,  and  collect  them  for  his  herbarium. 
Few  men  know  the  botany  of  this  city  equal  to  Price, 
but  his  botanical  peregrinations,  especially  on  a  Sun- 
day, would  carry  him  into  New  Jersey  and  for  many 
miles  around  the  environs  of  this  city.  The  local  bo- 
tanical literature  of  this  city  is  at  his  finger  ends,  far 
surpassing  any  one  I  know. 

While  pursuing  botany  with  such  ardor — nay,  pas- 
sion— he  was  struck  with  the  varieties  of  the  insect 
world ;  he  saw  that  nature  in  her  productions  was  as 


56  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

manifold  in  her  varieties  and  as  munificent  in   her 
grandeurs  here,  as  she  is  with  the  flowers  in  nature's 
garden  and  in  her  ever-varied  products  in  the  field. 
^ij^  He  studied  insect  life,  and  is  quite  an  adept  in  this 

special  branch  of  study. 

I  have  only  given  a  cursory  notice  of  the  abilities 
of  this  self-educated  man,  ^but  sufficient,  I  trust,  to 
show  that  any  man  pursuing  the  self-denial  and  pos- 
sessing the  will  to  do,  as  he  has  shown  in  his  life-work, 
can  be  a  more  useful  man  than  men  generally  are.  I 
regret  to  say  that  he  is  very  poor  and  in  indigent  cir- 
cumstances, arising  from  peculiar  idiosyncrasies  that 
have  made  his  usefulness  almost  nil.  Good  chances  he 
has  had  to  be  in  his  old  age  very  comfortable,  but  his 
peculiar  passions — impractical  in  business — have  made 
his  services  not  desirable.  He  is  still  about  the  city, 
piclfing  up  old  books  and  selling  them  where  he  can. 
He  preserves  still  a  certain  degree  of  independence 
and  self-respect  which  are  more  characteristic  of  the 
Englishman  than  any  other  nationality. 

REES  WELSH  &  CO. 

This  firm  first  commenced  the  old-book  business  in 

"*     Walnut  street   below   Fifth   street,  and  there  dealt 

chiefly  in  old  law  books.     In  a  short  time  they  added 

miscellaneous  books,  and  both  being  young  men,  they 

were  energetic  in  their  actions.     They  did  not  stay 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  57 

long  on  Walnut  street,  but  removed  to  South  Ninth 
street,  above  Chestnut  street,  into  the  store  now 
occupied  as  an  old  book  store  by  McKay.  Price 
was  engaged  by  them  as  their  chief  buyer,  and  was 
with  them  for  several  years,  and  they  did  an  active 
business.  In  the  course  of  events  the  partnership  was 
dissolved.  Eees  Welsh  moved  his  stock  where  he 
now  is,  a  few  doors  above  the  old  store.  He  sold  off' 
his  miscellaneous  books,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  sale 
of  old  law  books,  and  is  also  the  publisher  of  many 
law  books.  He  is  still  in  the  same  store,  and  carries 
on  the  selling  of  old  law  books  and  law  book  publisher. 

H.  McKEAN. 
This  old  book- seller,  who  had  a  book  stand  against^ 
the  burial  ground  was  in  Fifth  street,  near  Spruce ; 
and  also  a  book  store  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Fifth 
and  Adelphi  streets — added  but  little  to  the  credit  of 
the  profession  of  old  booksellers.     He  was  literally  of 
the  character  of  an  old  junk  dealer ;  and  as  a  man  his 
conduct  was  anything  but  exemplary — nay,  censurable 
in  every  sense.     I  regret  to  write  thus,  but  truth  is 
the  best,  after  all  cavil  may  say.     He  was  an  Irishman^ 
by  birth,  but  is  now  dead. 

W.  S.  RENTUOL. 
An  odd-looking  character,  a  Scotchman  by  birth, 


58  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

and  a  good  type  of  the  old  curiosity  monger.  He  is 
lean  and  lanky  in  personal  appearance,  and  always 
very  frowsy-looking  about  the  head.  He  has  a  fine 
collection  of  old  Presbyterian  books,  and  is  located  in 
the  second  story  on  Sixth  street  above  Market.  I 
understand  he  came  here  from  Pittsburgh.  He  has 
1^  been  in  this  city  selling  old  Presbyterian  books  for 

!  over  thirty  years,  but  is  known  only  by  that  class  of 
book-buyers.  He  is  of  the  old  blae-stocking  type, 
which  is  now  becoming  rare.  I  presume  that  from  his 
long  experience  he  knows  every  book  of  note  in  the 
literature  he  sells,  from  John  Knox  to  the  Old  Cove- 
nanters of  to-day.  He  is  known  to  few  collectors  of 
books,  as  he  deals  only  in  those  mentioned. 

BARDSLEY. 

This  old  bookseller  died  a  few  years  ago.  He  kept 
a  book  stand  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Sixth  and 
Minor  streets.  His  stock  was  not  large,  but  he  kept 
a  fair  class  of  books.  He  was  kind  and  genial  in  his 
manners.  He  did  not  boast  of  having  any  special 
knowledge  of  books ;  he  was  a  mere  vendor.  A  few 
years  ago  he  sold  out  his  books  and  accepted  the  posi- 
tion of  selling  outside,  at  the  stand  of  Leary's  book 
store.  He  was  a  man  well  respected.  While  engaged 
at  the  book  stand  he  suddenly  died.  He  was  an 
Englishman  by  birth. 


THE   OLD  BOOitSEtiLEtlS.  59 

W.  A.  LEARY,  JR. 

He  was  the  son  of  W.  A.  Leary,  whom  I  have  de- 
scribed. He  went  to  the  war.  When  it  was  over,  he 
started  in  the  old  book  business.  First  he  peddled 
books  in  a  basket ;  then  he  afterwards  had  a  very  small 
book  stand  on  Water  street,  on  the  wharf,  I  think, 
near  Walnut  street.  He  was  full  of  energy  and  pluck. 
He  persevered,  and  in  a  short  time  rented  the  store 
on  the  southeast  corner  of  Fifth  and  Walnut  streets. 
His  business  increased,  and  he  soon  became  an  active 
old  bookseller.  He  was  a  mere  vender  of  books ;  he 
neither  knew  their  contents  nor  cared  to  know.  He 
did  not  profess  to  be  even  a  catalogue  old  bookseller, 
but  bought  cheap  and  sold  at  a  good  profit.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  a  few  years  to  amass  a  large  collection  of  old 
books ;  but  success  with  him,  like  with  many  others, 
destroyed  those  business  habits  necessary  to  continued 
success,  and  stimulants  ended  his  career.  He  died 
several  years  ago.  The  business  was  sold  out  for 
$5,000,  and  C.  Mann  and  E.  Stuart  were  the  purchas- 
ers. W.  A.  Leary,  Jr.,  was  a  man  of  middle  stature, 
nothing  prepossessing  in  his  appearance,  gruff  and 
blunt  in  his  address.  His  education  was  not  above 
the  ordinary  standard ;  he  was  a  common  man,  but 
his  tact  and  energy  were  above  the  average. 


60  FORTY  YEARS   AMONG 

CRAWFORD. 
In  the  basement  of  Edwards'  building,  in  Walnut 
street  below  Sixth  street,  this  old  bookseller  com- 
menced business  with  a  small  stock.  By  economy 
and  perseverance  he  soon  acquired  a  good  stock  of 
books,  and  in  a  few  years  relinquished  the  old  book 
trade  and  commenced  buying  old  stereotype  plates, 
and  jobbed  in  that  business.  He  has  for  a  few  years 
past  occupied  a  store  in  Ninth  Street,  near  Arch 
Street,  and  still  continues  jobbing  in  new  books. 

JORDAN  BROTHERS. 
These  two  young  men  commenced  to  sell  old  books 
some  twelve  years  ago  in  South  Seventh  street,  near 
Sansom  street,  on  the  west  side.  The  store  was  a 
small  one,  and  their  stock  was  small.  In  a  few  years, 
by  their  energy,  perseverance  and  economy,  they 
found  more  room  was  required.  The  respected  John 
Pennington's  store  became  vacated — which  is  nearly 
opposite  their  first  store — and  they  removed  into  it, 
giving  them  ample  room  for  more  books.  I  presume 
they  removed,  after  being  there  a  short  time,  on  ac- 
count of  dullness  in  business ;  at  any  rate  their  trade 
fell  off,  and  they  rented  a  store  in  Market  street, 
above  Seventh  street,  and  there  got  fairly  into  busi- 
ness again.  The  property  was  sold,  and  bought  by 
the  present  Penn  Township  Bank,  and  they  were  noti- 


THE   OLD  BOOKSELLERS.  61 

fied  to  leave.  They  then  removed  to  South  JSTinth 
street,  above  Market  street,  and  in  a  short  time  re- 
moved again  to  their  present  location.  South/ Ninth  ?/ 
street,  above  Eace,  east  side.  They  have  a  fair  stock 
of  old  books,  and  are  always  on  the  alert  at  auction 
sales  and  other  places  where  books  are  for  sale.  They 
are  both  young  men,  and  like  young  men  in  general, 
their  enthusiasm  and  pluck  often  are  in  excess  of  pru- 
dence and  knowledge.  They  are  not  in  mental  cul- 
ture above  the  average  of  men,  nor  are  they  book 
lore  men  in  any  sense  of  the  word,  yet  they  are  am- 
bitious, and  strive  hard  to  become  well  posted  up  in 
book  lore.  They  probably  are  among  the  best  cata- 
logued book  sellers  in  the  city,  and  so  far  merit  en- 
couragement. Time  will  do  more  for  them  in  smooth- 
ing down  their  unevenness  and  youthful  extravagances 
in  their  habits  and  methods,  than  any  other  process 
could  accomplish.  I  would  encourage  them  onwards 
— they  are  on  the  right  track — but  in  order  to  be 
more  efficient,  read  the  best  authors  ;  there  is  no  royal 
road  to  knowledge ;  consult  Lowndes  and  Brunet  for 
a  better  acquaintance  with  the  history  of  books. 

THOMAS. 

This  old  book-seller  has  been  in  his  present  location, 
Ninth  street  above-  Race  street,  for  over  ten  years. 
He  began  the  old  book  business  in  a  very  humble 


62  FORTY   YEARS  AMONG 

way,  but  by  dint  of  perseverance  and  having  a  better 
knowledge  of  books  by  reason  of  his  superior  mental 
culture,  has  surpassed  both  in  numbers  and  quality 
most  of  his  rivals.  I  am  not  personally  acquainted 
with  him,  but  I  learn  from  others  who  are  that  he  is 
from  New  Jersey,  and  having  a  literary  taste,  he  came 
here  and  very  naturally  mixed  himself  among  books 
and  booksellers.  I  am  told  he  occasionally  writes 
for  the  magazines  and  other  papers,  and  possesses  a 
good  general  knowledge  of  literature.  He  had  a 
coterie  of  literary  men  meeting  at  his  store,  and  there 
reading  essays  and  debating  on  literary  subjects. 
This  method  of  becoming  a  general  adept  on  belles- 
ctici  lettres  is  highly  commendable,  and  ought  to  be  more 
generally  adopted.  It  is  to  be  much  regretted  that 
this  manner  of  conducting  business  is  not  more  gener- 
ally adopted  by  our  old  book-sellers ;  it  is  a  method 
that  raises  and  elevates  the  character  of  the  old-book 
trade.  I  do  not  know  of  a  single  old-book  seller  in 
this  city  who  has  shown  the  capacity  and  desire  that 
this  Thomas  has  so  far  shown.  I  do  not  know  of  one 
of  them  who  has  the  ability  of  rendering  to  their  pro- 
fession a  modicum  of  literary  work,  but  are  mere 
venders  of  books.  Thomas,  I  am  informed,  has  not 
only  a  fine  collection  of  old  books,  but  he  has  specu- 
lated in  mining,  and  I  hope  has  made  more  money  in 
it  than  in  selling  old  books.     It  is  a  rare  thing  that  any 


^ 


THE    OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  '  63 

old-book  seller  can  do  more  than  make  a  comfortable 
living — I  mean  who  has  exclusively  devoted  himself 
to  selling  old  booJcs.  There  are  some  who  started  as 
old -book  sellers,  and  who  are  mere  venders  of  books, 
like  the  grocer  sells  a  pound  of  candles ;  but  when 
money  is  made  by  them,  it  is  only  as  hook  jobbers  or 
publishers.  In  a  mere  utilitarian  sense  it  is  right, 
but  an  old-book  seller  who  loves  his  books  and  their 
authors,  and  who  can'  descant  on  their  lives  and  re- 
hearse the  subject  matter  of  their  books,  and  who  can 
render  his  literary  society  enjoyable  by  talking  about 
Shakspeare  or  Boswell's  Life  of  Johnson  and  the 
"musical  glasses  "  this  is  the  true  man  to  his  profes- 
sion, and  one  who  enlists  my  sympathies  and  gains 
my  admiration. 

HENRY  HOLLOWAY. 

I  find  that  this  person  suggests  to  me,  that  when  I 
said  "  Thomas  is  the  only  old  bookseller  I  know  who 
had  any  literary  capacity,"  I  made  an  error — this 
man  Holloway  must  be  included.  He  commenced 
the  old-book  business  some  twenty  years  ago  in  S. 
Tenth  street  near  Market  street,  east  side.  He  was 
previous  to  this  a  teacher,  and  begun  chiefly  in  school 
books,  and  afterwards  added  general  literature.  For 
some  years  he  was  very  successful ;  his  stock  so  in- 
preased  that  he  rented  the  next  store,  and  had  both  of 


64  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

them  well  filled  with  books.  He  is  a  man  of  general 
culture,  and  has  translated  books  from  the  German. 
In  physique  he  is  weak  and  puny ;  he  has  been 
suffering  for  over  twenty  years  from  a  spinal  com- 
plaint, but  he  still  lives  and  sells  old  books;  he  is 
kind  and  genial  in  his  manners,  and  a  very  interesting 
conversationalist.  1  have  sold  him  many  books  in 
the  course  of  twenty  years,  and  always  found  him 
pleasant.  After  he  had  taken  the  additional  store  in 
Tenth  street,  he  flourished  for  some  time ;  but  some 
ill  luck  or  misfortune  overtook  him,  and  he  had  to 
J?/  remove  to  S..  Ninth  street,  near  Cherry  street.  There 
he  opened  with  a  poor  stock  of  books ;  he  lingered 
there  for  a  short  time,  and  then  he  removed  to  Eighth 
and  Wood  streets,  with  very  few  books,  and  opened  a 
newspaper  stand,  where  he  remained  a  few  years 
doling  out  a  mere  existence.  About  a  year  ago  he 
removed  to  S.  Tenth  street,  above  Walnut,  and  there 
he  has  a  few  books,  and  I  hope  is  improving  his  finan- 
cial condition.  Old  age  is  creeping  on  him,  and  with 
it  poor  health :  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  he 
should  be  somewhat  eccentric  in  his  habits. 

LEARY  &  CO.  (E.  S.  Stuart  &  Co.). 

The  present  proprietors  of  this  store  bought  it  from 
the  widow  of  W.  A.  Leary,  jr.,  when  it  was  at  the 
southwest  corner  of  Fifth  and  Walnut  streets.     E.  S. 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  65 

Stuart  was  in  the  employ  of  Learj,  jr.,  from  a  boy, 
and  was  apt,  industrious  and  intelligent.  He  was  the 
chief  person  on  whom  Leary,  jr.,  depended,  and  mainly 
attended  to  the  business  during  the  latter  years  of 
Leary's  life,  which  were  chiefly  spent  outside  of  his 
store.  His  conduct  was  noticed,  and  gained  the  ad- 
miration of  his  customers,  chief  among  whom  was 
Charles  Mann.  He  admired  Stuart  for  his  personal 
attention  to  business  and  the  kindness  and  urbanity  he 
displayed. 

At  the  death  of  Leary,  jr.,  the  business  was  for 
sale.  Stuart  not  having  the  money  to  buy,  it  was 
arranged  that  C.  Mann  and  Stuart  should  buy  it,  and 
a  co-partnership  was  formed  under  the  name  of  Leary 
&  Co.  The  business  is  continued  by  the  above  firm 
with  energy  and  good  management.  Stuart  infused 
new  energy  into  the  business,  and  with  its  former  im- 
petus it  soon  outgrew  the  dimensions  of  the  store. 
More  room  was  required,  and  Mann  bought  the  pres- 
ent property.  No.  9  South  Ninth  street. 

Under  the  good  and  spirited  management  of  Stuart 
the  business  progressed  very  rapidly,  so  that  now  it 
has  one  of  the  largest  stocks  of  old  and  new  books  in 
the  country.  Large  additions  to  the  store  have  been 
made,  and  still  the  cry  is  "more  room." 

The  business  is  now  somewhat  diverted  from  the 
original  business  carried  on  by  I^eary,  jr.  Then  it 
5 


^ 


66  rOETY   YEARS   AMONG 

was  purely  old  books,  now  it  is  old  and  new  books, 
and  new  book  jobbing  forms  a  large  portion  of  the 
business.  Old  and  new  school  books  are  a  specialty.  <!il 
A  business  of  the  kind  carried  on  by  such  a  store  em- 
braces the  purchase  of  all  kinds  of  books,  and  it  is 
somewhat  singular  that  the  large  number  of  books 
purchased,  many  of  them  good  ones — that  out  of  this 
large  business,  the  only  specialty  or  chief  one  is  the 
lowest  type  in  the  old  book  business.  Old  booksellers 
everywhere  consider  old  school  books  as  trash,  and 
place  them  away  in  some  remote  corner  of  the  store. 
I  am  aware  that  the  plea  is,  there  is  money  in  them; 
I  am  also  aware  that  this  firm  has  made  some  money 
out  of  them ;  hence  it  is  continued.  But  does  not  this 
show  that  the  prevailing  active  spirit  of  this  firm  is 
not  influenced  by  such  high  types  as  James  Lacking- 
ton,  Henry  Bohn  or  a  Quaritch,  or  the  first-class  old 
booksellers  in  Europe  and  in  this  country  ?  All  per- 
sons who  know  this  well-known  store  know  that  it 
contains  many  first-class  books;  and  why  the  lowest 
class  should  be  their  specialty  can  only  be  accounted 
for  on  the  plea  of  making  money.  Primarily  speak- 
ing, money  is  the  chief  factor,  the  great  lever  in 
business ;  but  there  were  old  booksellers,  and  there  are 
still  a  few  left,  who  look  on  money  produced  as 
secondary  as  a  means  to  a  brighter  and  nobler  end. 
That  end  is  the  intrinsic  love  of  the  subject-matter  of 


THE   OLD  BOOKSELLERS.  67 

the  "books — the  large  amount  of  knowledge  derived 
from  the  reading  of  them — the  association  and  com- 
munion with  the  great  minds  of  the  past  and  the 
present — all  of  which  lend  to  elevate  the  mind,  the 
development  of  a  higher  moral  tone,  and  the  pleasures 
of  intellectual  growth,  I  know  of  old  booksellers  who 
have  on  their  shelves  the  finest  and  recherche  editions 
of  the  best  authors.  I  have  been  in  their  stores  when 
some  of  those  fine  books  have  been  sold,  and  when  the 
buyer  had  gone  the  expression  was  made,  "  I  am  sorry 
I  have  sold  that  book — such  a  fine  edition  of  so  great 
a  writer."  Such  men  are  rare,  I  know,  and  show 
that  the  money  value  of  the  book  was  merely  second- 
ary. This  trend  of  thought  leads  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  able  executive  ability  which  controls  it,  is 
more  objective  in  its  views  than  subjective  in  its  aspira- 
tions. This  firm  has  the  largest  collection  of  old 
books  for  sale  in  this  city,  and  I  hope  no  other  outside 
influences  will  ever  deprive  it  of  its  enviable  position. 
Local  pride  is  a  great  virtue,  and  narrow  must  be  the 
aspirations  of  any  one  who  does  not  feel  a  proper  pride 
in  such  local  institutions.  These  efibrts  reflect  honor 
and  dignity  on  their  owners. 

HOLLOWAY. 
I  know  but  little  of  this  old  bookseller,  except  that 
he  is  a  brother  to  Henry  Holloway,  whom  I  have  no- 


68  FORTY  TEARS  AMONG 

ticed.  He  has  a  book  stand  and  basement  in  Third 
street,  near  Walnut,  and  has  been  there  for  several 
years,  and  has  a  stock  of  old  books  and  magazines 
jumbled  up  in  a  very  chaotic  mass. 

JOHN  KING. 
He  is  in  a  small  store  in  South  Tenth  street,  above 
Walnut,  and  has  a  small  and  miscellaneous  lot  of 
books. 

WALTER  B.  SAUNDERS 
Was   until   recently  on   South   Tenth   street,   above 
Chestnut,  east  side ;  he  had  the  two  stores  made  into 
one. 

In  quality  he  had  the  finest  and  most  valuable 
stock  of  old  books  in  this  city,  though  not  in  quan- 
tity. His  books  were  chiefly  medical  and  scientific. 
The  finest  and  most  costly  editions  could  be  seen  in 
his  windows — folios  on  natural  history  and  other  sci- 
entific works,  fine  English  and  foreign  editions,  illus- 
trated most  sumptuously. 

Saunders  is  one  of  the  most  courtly  and  polished  of 
all  our  old  booksellers.  He  is  well  educated,  and 
knows  the  character  of  the  books  he  has  for  sale. 

A  few  months  ago  he  removed  his  fine  stock  of 
books  into  a  large  store  in  Walnut  street,  above 
Ninth   street,  and  I  'learn  he  is  selling,  off  his  fine 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  69 

books  and  has  commenced  the  publication  of  medical 
books.  For  this  I  am  sorry,  and  I  fear  it  shows  that 
the  patronage  of  our  book  buyers  has  not  been  liberal 
enough  to  induce  him  to  continue  to  have  for  sale 
such  a  fine  class  of  books. 

SCHAFFER  &  KORADIE 
Are  German  booksellers  at  Fourth  and  Wood  streets. 
They  had  some  time  ago  a  large  collection  of  old 
German  books  for  sale,  and  imported  books  to  order. 
It  is  a  most  singular  fact  that  in  this  city,  with  a 
German  population  of  over  300,000,  they  sustain  only 
one  that  deals  in  old  books,  and  this  on  a  small  scale. 
This  fact  reflects  on  the  generally  well  educated  Ger- 
man but  little  credit.  Why  this  should  be  so  I  do  not 
know.  I  have  asked  well  educated  Germans  about 
this  deplorable  fact,  but  no  good  solution  can  be 
given.  Some  say  that  the  educated  German  can- 
not be  found  here,  or  at  least  but  few  of  them,  their 
chief  object  in  life  is  work,  smoke  and  drink  lager 
beer,  and  only  read  their  newspapers.  I  am  sorry  to 
say  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  truth  in  this  partial 
explanation.  Let  us  hope  this  state  of  things  will  be 
changed. 

C.  J.  PRICE. 

This  bookseller  has  had  a  varied  career,  both  in  old 
and  new  books.     When  I  first  knew  him,  some  thirty 


70  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

,  years  ago,  he  had  a  book  store  on  Sixth  street,  above 

Chestnut  street,  east  side,  in  what  was   then  called 

-  Hart's  building:  it  was  owned  by  Abraham  Hart.  I 
have  understood  that  Mr.  McElroy,  the  publisher  of 

~  the  City  Directory  at  that  time,  furnished  the  money. 
Price  had  a  fine  class  of  art  books,  and  devoted  him- 
self to  that  class  of  literature.  I  recollect  that  he  was 
the  agent  in  this  country  for  the  "Royal  Gallery,"  a 
fine  royal  folio,  filled  with  the  finest  engravings  of 
copies  from  Turner,  Stanfield,  and  other  first-class 
living  artists  of  England.  This  book  had  deservedly 
a  large  sale — books  of  this  character  he  imported,  and 
had  a  valuable  stock.  Business  embarrassments  caused 
the  stock  to  be  sold  at  Thomas  &  Sons'  auction  store. 
After  this  I  think  he  went  as  salesman  to  Appleton's 
book  store  in  New  York.  He  did  not  stay  in  New 
York  very  long,  but  opened  a  book  store  in  Sansom 
street,  near  Eighth  street,  and  I  think  Willis  P.  Haz- 
ard was  in  partnership  with  him.  This  business  was 
closed  for  what  reason  I  know  not;  he  then  went  as 
salesman  to  Porter  &  Coates'  book  store ;  there  he  re- 
mained for  several  years.  He  left  Porter  &  Coates 
and  opened  a  room  in  the  building  where  he  now  is, 
as  agent  for  the  purchase  of  foreign  books ;  he  has  a 
large  knowledge  of  fine  English  books. 


THE   OLD  BOOKSELLERS.  71 

DAVID  MCKAY. 
This  young  man,  whom  I  am  not  personally  ac- 
quainted with,  I  have  learned  is  a  Scotchman,  and 
was  a  salesman  in  Lippincott's  book  store.  He  started 
the  old  and  new  book  business  a  few  years  ago,  and 
seems  fall  of  energy.  His  stock  of  new  and  old  books 
is  large  and  of  good  quality.  His  experience  in  old 
books  is  necessarily  limited,  and  as  several  of  our  old 
booksellers  have  become  venders  and  jobbers  of  new 
books,  it  can  scarcely  be  expected  that  this  young 
man,  who  is  a  large  jobber  of  new  books,  can  be  of 
much  authocity  among  bibliomaniacs.  He  also  pub- 
lishes a  few  books,  and  judging  from  their  character, 
no  great  fortune  can  be  expected  from  their  sales. 
His  store  is  on  Ninth  street  above  Chestnut  street, 
rear  of  the  Girard  House. 

W.  H.  BROTHERHEAD. 

His  place  of  business  is  at  288  Oirard  avenue.  He 
has  been  selling  old  books  for  a  year,  and  seems  as  if 
success  was  with  him.  He  has  a  full  stock,  and  I 
trust  all  will  be  successful.  He  is  one  of  my  sons, 
and  I  trust  and  believe  that  the  old  book  business  will 
prosper. 


'''lPFji^liiilii»s{ 


MElIiJ"  AI^D   BOOKS. 


KNOWLEDGE  of  books  is  the  great  dis- 
,  JO  tinctive  quality  between  man  and  the  brate. 
Here  the  line  of  demarcation  can  be  plainly 
drawn,  and  the  value  of  knowledge  clearly  seen. 
Books  are  the  greatest  factors  in  modern  civilization ; 
they  are  the  vehicles  whereby  man  communicates  with 
man,  and  are  the  creators  and  generators  of  all  that 
is  noble  and  valuable.  To  the  religious  and  devout 
thinker  they  are  a  solace  and  a  pleasure ;  to  the  nov- 
elist who  aspires  to  generalize  human  actions  and 
movements  they  are  indispensable ;  to  the  deep,  pro- 
found metaphysician  they  are  wells  of  truth  inexhaust- 
ible— and  probed  by  men  like  Kant,  Herbert  Spencer 
and  John  Stuart  Mill,  hidden  truths  still  are  there  to 
be  more  fully  explored  ;  to  the  historical  scholar  they 
present  new  unexplored  mines  of  wealth,  that  have 
been  buried  in  the  ruins  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon — 
such  as  are  exhibited  in  the  British  Museum,  in  the 
Elgin  Marbles,  and  in  the  books  of  Layard  and  others. 
That  glorious  and  magnificent  book  of  Lord  Kings- 
bury on  the  Mexican  Antiquities,  grand  as  it  is,  has 

(72) 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  73 

only  touched  the  surface ;  when  the  hieroglyphical 
language  of  the  ancient  Aztecs,  which  abound  in  the 
architectural  remains  of  these  countries,  finds  a  Cham- 
pollion  to  fully  translate  this  language  as  he  translated 
the  Egyptian,  then  one  of  the  darkest  and  most  remote 
of  nations  will  be  disclosed  to  view.  History  is  even 
unfolding  itself  in  the  confirmation  of  biblical  truths 
by  a  Smyth  or  a  Tischendorf ;  the  ruins  of  Eome  and 
Pompeii  of  late  years  have  gratified  the  historical  stu- 
dent through  the  medium  of  books,  and  enhanced  the 
value  of  knowledge  to  mankind.  The  glorious  crea- 
tions of  Shakspeare  and  the  whole  of  the  Elizabethan 
age  of  literary  giants  would  have  been  but  little  known 
except  through  the  medium  of  books.  No  pen  can 
adequately  describe  the  pleasures  they  have  given  and 
are  giving  to  countless  millions.  The  scientific  man 
is  indebted  more  to  the  literature  of  books  than  to 
personal  observation ;  few  can  delve  into  the  bowels 
of  the  earth  and  luxuriate  amongst  its  strata,  and  pile 
up  fossils  of  every  description,  and  bring  forth  the  re- 
sults in  their  sanctums — like  a  Lyell,  a  Darwin,  a 
Huxley,  or  a  Tyndale.  The  many  who  are  called 
scientific  thinkers — and  able  ones,  too — derive  their 
knowledge  more  from  books  than  actual  observation. 
The  litterateur  and  the  journalist,  to  whom  we  owe  so 
much  of  our  pleasure  in  every -day  life,  feed  exclus- 
ively on  the  literary  pabulum  in  books. 


Ti  FORTY   YEA.RS  AMONG 

The  novel  writers,  with  few  exceptions,  are  only 
the  reflex  of  our  common  life.  Scott,  Bulwer,  Dickens, 
George  Eliot  and  Thackeray  have  more  than  given  us 
a  reflex  of  common  life ;  they  have  presented  to  us 
life-like  characters  of  the  past  and  present  that  will 
never  perish.  George  Eliot  has  done  more  than  that ; 
she  has  penetrated  the  depths  of  human  reason,  and 
has  given  us  such  a  masterly  analysis  of  human  pas- 
sions that  they  are  Shakespearian  in  their  breadth  and 
depth.  All  these  writers  have  produced  books  that 
are  so  subjective  in  their  character  that  all  thinkers 
are  delighted  with  them. 

Books  to  the  politician  and  statesman  are  their 
daily  food  for  thought  and  reflection ;  paste  and  scis- 
sors are  essential,  and  scraps  of  thought  are  picked  up 
everywhere  and  rendered  subservient  to  their  ends. 

The  preacher,  no  matter  to  what  church  he  belongs, 
whether  he  is  a  St.  Augustine,  a  Chillingworth,  or  a 
Clarke,  is  a  great  thinker  and  creator  of  religious 
thought.  Without  the  products  of  such  minds,  that 
are  to  be  found  only  in  books,  what  would  the  mod- 
ern divine  do?  A  few  men  like  Spurgeon  and 
Beecher  who  create  thought  would  live — but  the 
majority  of  our  divines  would  lapse  into  nothingness. 
The  ideas  of  these  men  are  principally  derived  from 
greater  minds,  and  the  products  of  such  minds  can 
only  be  found  in  books.  Books  to  such  minds  are 
what  tools  are  to  carpenters — ^indispensable. 

£W%<^  •^  /«►  V^  a.  ^  ti/irt,  tUtiA  c/iA/vj  nt^. , , 


PKICES  AND   EDITONS   OF  BOOKS. 


)  ^  N  connection  with  my  reminiscences,  I  deem  it 
,\;^  will  be  of  some  value  to  present  and  future  old 
J^Q.  book  buyers  to  place  on  record  the  prices 
books  brought  years  ago  from  my  own  sales  and  those 
sold  at  auction.  In  one  of  my  importations  of  Eng- 
lish old  books,  I  had  the  two  volumes  of  Josslyn's 
voyages  made  in  1633-4.  They  are  small  12mo.  vol- 
umes, and  when  I  sold  them  for  $2.50  each,  I  thought 
I  had  obtained  a  good  price:  now  these  volumes 
would  bring  $50. 

Jefferson,  when  U.  S.  Minister  to  France,  first 
published  his  "  Notes  on  Virginia,"  1782 :  he  pre- 
sented nearly  all  of  his  copies  to  friends  and  literary 
men  whom  he  knew.  On  the  fly-leaf,  next  to  the 
title  page,  he  accompanied  the  book  with  a  few  auto- 
graphic lines  suitable  to  the  person  to  whom  he  gave 
the  copy.  Thus  the  first  edition  is  very  rare,  and  is 
enhanced  in  value  by  his  autographic  remarks.  I 
bought  a  copy  and  sold  it  to  a  collector  in  this  city  for 
$5.50.  I  thought  it  then  a  large  price,  but  now  it 
would  probably  bring  $50. 

(75) 


76  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

Forty  years  ago,  Franklin's  imprints  were  much 
more  plentiful  than  now,  and  I  have  sold  many  of 
them  at  $1.00  each.  Once  I  had  a  very  fine  copy  of 
Logan's  translation  of  "Cato  Major,"  printed  by 
Franklin,  and  sold  it  for  $2.50 — a  fancy  price  I  con- 
sidered it  then,  but  it  has  since  brought  $50. 

When  I  sold  autographs,  in  one  of  my  visits  to 
Richmond,  Virginia,  I  bought  of  a  lady  one  of  the 
finest  autograph  letters  of  Washington  I  ever  saw, 
and  I  have  seen  many  and  sold  many ;  it  was  a  love 
letter  in  four  pages  quarto,  with  his  name  in  full  in 
three  different  parts  of  the  letter.  He  wrote  this  let- 
ter to  Bessie  Fairfax,  who  was  the  go-between  for  him 
and  Mrs.  Custis.  When  Washington  was  surveying  in 
different  parts  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  he  took  this 
method  of  cementing  his  affections,  and  thus  securing 
Mrs.  Custis  for  his  wife.  I  offered  this  letter  for  sale, 
but  the  autograph  mania  had  then  cooled — none  here 
would  pay  $100  for  it.  I  then  offered  it  at  auction ; 
it  was  well  advertised ;  the  most  loving  parts  of  the 
letter  were  freely  printed  in  the  New  YorJc  Herald ; 
the  price  was  limited  to  $100 ;  no  better  price  could 
be  obtained  than  $35  ;  it  was  withdrawn.  In  1878  I 
was  compelled  by  sickness  to  travel  in  England ;  I 
took  the  letter  with  me,  knowing  well  I  could  sell  it 
there.  I  went  to  see  my  friend  Wm.  Nay  lor,  a  gen- 
tleman of  means,  now  dead,  and  who  dealt  in  auto- 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  77 

graphs  for  pastime.  I  showed  him  the  letter ;  he  was 
in  ecstacies  with  it,  and  asked  the  price ;  I  said  £20 ; 
he  said,  "Leave  it  with  me,  I  can  sell  it ;"  I  did  so ;  in 
a  few  days  he  wrote  me  and  paid  me  the  money.  The 
fluctuation  in  the  price  of  books  is  as  various  as 
in  the  sale  of  autographs.  In  the  sale  of  gentle  John 
Allan,  of  New  York,  who  was  a  good  customer  of 
mine,  a  letter  of  Washington's  was  sold ;  the  compe- 
tition was  intense,  and  it  sold  for  $3,000.  It  was  after- 
wards proven  that  Mr.  Allan  had  bought  this  of  a 
man  who  had  stolen  it  from  the  city  archives  of  New 
York.  The  city  claimed  it ;  a  law-suit  was  the  re- 
sult, and  the  claimant,  the  city  of  New  York,  re- 
covered it. 

I  bought  from  the  heirs  of  Charles  Thomson,  Secre- 
tary for  the  First  Congress  of  the  United  States,  a 
unique  copy  of  the  Constitutions  of  the  thirteen  Colo- 
nies— then  States — and  printed  by  order  of  Congress. 
This  copy  had  an  extra  Constitution,  I  think,  of  Maine. 
The  book  in  any  condition  is  rare ;  it  was  bound  in 
boards.  This  copy  was  the  one  used  by  Charles 
Thomson,  and  on  the  side  was  written  in  large  text 
Charles  Thomson.  There  being  no  doubt  of  its  au- 
thenticity, I  sent  it  to  Mr.  Spofford,  Librarian  of  the 
National  Library,  in  Washington.  I  thought  this 
historical  relic  would  be  highly  prized,  and  should 
have  been  placed  among  Kevolutionary  books.    A  full 


78  FORTY   TEARS   AMONG 

description  was  given,  and  Mr.  Spoffbrd  replied  and 
stated  that  as  he  was  not  authorized  to  pay  such  a 
price — $50 — it  had  to  go  before  the  Library  Commit- 
tee. It  was  there  for  some  weeks,  and  the  answer  re- 
turned was  that  $15  was  offered !  This  copy  was 
returned,  and  was  afterwards  sold  to  James  Lenox, 
and  it  can  be  seen  in  his  valuable  library  in  New 
York.  This  book  should  have  been  in  the  National 
Library,  and  would  be  there  had  it  not  been  left  to 
the  decision  of  politicians. 

In  1857  the  Kev.  Dr.  Boardman,  of  this  city,  en- 
gaged me  to  collect  for  James  Lenox,  of  New  York, 
all  the  different  American  editions  of  the  Bible,  both 
Catholic  and  Protestant.  Special  instructions  were 
given  to  buy  the  Bible  authorized  by  Congress,  and 
printed  by  Aitkin  in  1782.  This  Bible  is  a  small 
12mo.  It  is  bound  in  sheep,  and  sometimes  in  two 
volumes,  but  oftener  in  one.  I  advertised  in  the 
newspapers  for  it.  After  a  few  days  several  imperfect 
copies  were  brought,  which  I  did  not  buy  ;  but  a  very 
fine  copy  was  offered,  and  I  paid  for  it  $25 — this  was 
the  price  I  offered  to  pay  in  my  advertisements.  I 
collected  for  James  Lenox  a  large  number  of  Bibles, 
and  I  presume  the  fine  collection  which  is  now  in  the 
Lenox  Library  in  New  York  were  bought  by  me  for 
him.  It  is  not  out  of  place  here  to  state  that 
tiio\^h  the  Aitkin's  Bible  bears  the  date  1782 — the 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  T9 

earliest  American  imprint  of  the  Bible — ^it  is  stated 
bj  Lowndes,  the  eminent  English  bibliographer,  that 
the  Bible  bearing  the  London  imprint  1752,  was 
printed  in  Boston  for  Mark  Baskett. 

In  these  recollections  and  experiences  of  mine,  I  de- 
sire to  place  on  a  more  permanent  record  the  results  of 
some  of  the  sales  of  many  of  our  best  libraries  of  emi- 
nent collectors,  which  were  realized  at  auction  sales. 

The  first  is  the  fine  library  of  E.  B.  Corwin,  that 
was  sold  in  November,  1856.  The  old  bookseller 
and  collector  will  find  very  valuable  data  that  will  be 
of  invaluable  use  in  researches  for  rare  books  and 
their  value.  In  this  and  other  sales  which  I  shall  in- 
clude, it  will  be  seen  that  prices  fluctuate  but  little, 
and  the  general  tendency  is  upward. 

The  old  bookseller  and  collector  will  here  find  suffi- 
cient evidence  to  lay  the  flattering  unction  to  his 
soul  that  if  this  hobby  or  true  literary  taste  of  his  is 
a  costly  affair,  he  can,  with  a  fair  knowledge  of 
literature  and  using  good  discretion,  spend  his  thou- 
sands of  dollars  in  such  a  way  that  the  capital  sum  of 
money  he  has  spent  is  in  many  cases  realizing  a  good 
interest.  In  a  mere  money  point  of  view — and  that 
is  ignoble — his  investments  will  average  a  larger  in- 
terest than  is  generally  acquired  in  mercantile  pur- 
suits. This  opinion  is  not  intended  to  vitiate  or  in 
any  way  to  decry  other  pursuits  in  the  various  activ- 


80  FORTY  YEARS   AMONG 

ities  of  life,  but  to  show  the  few  who  are  sufficiently 
cultured  in  general  literature  that  the  spare  time  they 
^^  have  from  their  general  business  is  a  credit  to  them. 
They  elevate  the  literary  taste  of  the  nation,  raise  its 
standard  to  the  world,  and  show  to  the  nations  that 
though  we  are  creating  a  new  world  of  industries  out 
of  a  howling  wilderness,  yet  our  inherited  tastes  in- 
cline us  and  show  that  the  subjective  part  of  our  na- 
ture crops  out  and  illustrates  the  fact  that  Americans 
by  their  fine  libraries  are  deserving,  at  least  in  Eng- 
land, of  it  being  said  that  they  are  the  choicest  of 
buyers  of  books,  and  by  their  purchases  have  mate- 
rially raised  the  prices  in  English  markets.  But  how 
much  more  consoling  it  is  to  the  cultured  American 
^  ^  book  buyer,  when  he  compares  his  purchases  of 
J\  \>^        books,  the  money  he   has  spent  on  them,  with  the 

s''\>  money  spent  by  the  roue,  the  club  man,  the  sensual- 

!i  d*^  ist,  the  gambler  or  the  sportsman  ? 

j  The  mere  pleasure  of  collecting  books  is  an  ecstatic 
trt***  1  one,  even  if  the  contents  are  not  read ;  how  much 
more  creditable  it  is  to  say  that  John  Smith  has  a 
fine  library — ^it  carries  with  it  a  thousand  pleasant 
associations  —  and  then  compare  him  with  John 
Jones,  who  is  a  dude  in  dress,  a  great  club  man,  boasts 
of  how  many  bottles  of  champagne  he  drank  last 
night,  of  the  young  girls  he  has  ruined;  see  him  pa- 
rading Chestnut  Street  in  the  latest  style  of  dress,  a 


THE    OLD   BOOKSELLEES.  81 

cane  in  his  hand,  casting  his  leering  wicked  eyes  on 
the  ladies  that  are  promenading.  Follow  him  through 
a  few  years  you  will  find  a  physical  wreck,  filled  with 
disease  of  almost  every  kind,  rheumatism,  gout,  Bright's 
disease  and  others  of  a  more  poisonous  nature,  and  at 
last  he  prematurely  dies,  leaving  a  wretched  record  of 
^a  life  thrown  away.  The  book  collector  when  he 
dies  leaves  the  results  in  his  fine  library,  which  if  it 
does  not  realize  at  sale  the  amount  of  its  original  cost 
it  leaves  money  for  use  to  his  family,  whose  surround- 
ings are  a  blessing  and  a  credit  to  all. 

The  first  sale  of  memorable  books  I  shall  print  is 
that  of  E.  B.  Corwin's,  of  New  York. 

• 
SALE  OF  THE  LATE  E.  B.  CORWIN'S  LIBRARY. 

{From,  the  Publisher's  Circular.) 

This  very  fine  and  choice  collection  was  sold  by 
Messrs.  Bangs,  Brother  &  Co.,  during  the  middle  of 
November,  1856.  The  prices  obtained  have  been  quite 
large,  and  the  bidding  for  rare  books  very  spirited. 
Among  others  which  we  have  marked  are  "The 
Boston  Chronicle"  for  1768,  with  many  supplements 
and  extraordinary  papers^  4to.,  $7  —  rather  cheap; 
"Monster  of  Monsters,  by  Th.  Thumb,  Esq.,"  Bost. 
1754,  a  rare  tract,  $5  ;  some  New  York  City  Direc- 
tories from  1800,  $2  each;  a  Philadelphia  Directory, 
1785,  $3.50;  (I  have  sold  this  1785  Directory  for 
$12 ;)  "  E.  L.,  a  Letter  of  Advice  to  a  Young  Gen- 
6 


82  FORTY  YEARS  AMONG 

tleman  leaving  the  University,"  New  York,  1696, 
$12.50;  the  "Timepiece  and  Literary  Companion," 
edited  by  Philip  Freneau,  from  No.  1,  March  13, 
1797,  to  No.  79,  September  11,  $7.50;  "Virginia 
Gazette,  wz7A  the  freshest  advices,''^  $16;  "Biblio-  / 
graphy,  a  Poem,  in  six  Books,"  8vo.,  Lond.  1812, 
very  rare,  only  fifty  copies  having  been  printed,  $2.50, 
less  than  had  been  expected;  a  copy  of  the  "Biblio-  / 
theca  Americana,"  Lond.  1789,  a  very  scarce  book, 
attributed  to  various  authors,  $10.25 ;  "Bibliothecse 
Americanae  Primordia ;  an  Attempt  towards  laying 
the  Foundation  of  an  American  Library,  in  several 
Books,  Papers  and  Writings,  presented  to  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,"  by  White  Kennet,  / 
4to,  London,  1713,  highly  thought  of  by  collectors, 
brought  only  $16;  a  large  paper  copy,  uncut,  of  Dib- 
din's  "Bibliomania,"  of  which  only  fifty-five  copies 
were  printed,  $17;  a  number  of  Dibdin's  boooks  were 
sold  for  rather  moderate  prices;  Ludewig's  "Litera-  y 
ture  of  American  Local  History;  a  Bibliographical 
History,"  N.  Y.,  1846,  $6  ;  a  large  paper  copy,  uncut, 
of  the  "  Bibliotheca  Sussexiana,"  was  sold  for  $6; 
"Bibliotheca  Americana  Nova,"  with  memoranda  by- 
Mr.  Corwin,  $11.50;  a  "  Catalogue  of  the  Library  of 
Miss  Curren,  at  Eishton  Hall,"  with  three  autograph 
letters,  only  40  copies  printed,  $5.25  ;  a  fine  copy  of 
"  Pantographia"  $5.50  ;  "A  Dissertation  upon  English  / 
Typographical  Founders  and  Foundries,"  with  an 
Appendix,  very  curious  and  scarce,  $6.50;  a  copy  of 
Bartlett's  "Dictionary  of  Americanisms,"  $6.50 ;(/J 
Home  Tooke's  "  Diversions  of  Purley,"  2  vols.  4to., 
half  calf,  $5.25;  a   large  paper   uncut   copy   of  the 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  83 

"  Opera  Omnia"  of  Isocrates,  3  vols.  4to.,  Paris,  Didot, 
1782,  only  $12;  Barlow's  "Columbiad,"  4to.,  best  ^ 
edition,  with  Smirke's  Illustrations,  $15;  "Legendae 
Catholicae;  a  Lytle  Boke  of  Seyntlie  Gestes,"  of  which 
only  40  copies  were  printed,  $3.75 ;  a  copy  of  the  first 
edition  of  Eogers'  "  Italy,"  2  vols.  8vo.,  Turkey  mo- 
rocco, $9 ;  "  Witt's  Eecreations,  Augmented  with  ''' 
Ingenious  Conceites  for  the  Wittie,  and  Merrie  Medi- 
cines for  the  Melancholic,  with  a  Thousand  Outlandish 
Proverbs,"  2  vols.  12mo.,  published  at  £3  3s.,  $3.25. 
The  collection  was  particularly  rich  in  old  almanacs. 
A  volume  containing  20  "  Poor  Richard's  Almanacks," 
purchased  by  Mr.  Corwin  at  the  sale  of  the  late  E.  D. 
Ingraham's  library  at  Philadelphia,  each  leaf  being 
mounted  on  laid  paper,  and  the  whole  elegantly  bound, 
was  taken  by  Mr.  Norton,  for  $62.50.  At  a  sale  some 
years  since,  which  included  eighteen  copies  of  "Poor 
Richard,"  Mr.  Corwin  gave  $12  each,  $216,  though, 
we  believe,  they  were  not  intended  for  his  own  collec-. 
tion.  The  catalogue  contained  an  unusually  large  list  ^ 
of  works  on  Calligraphy  and  Stenography.  A  volume 
on  Book-keeping  entered  in  this  division,  entitled 
"The  Maner  and  Fourme  how  to  keep  a  perfecte 
reconyng,  after  the  order  of  the  moste  worthie  and 
notable  accompte  of  Debitour  and  Creditour,  etc., 
etc.,"  folio,  black  letter,  Lond.  1553,  sold  for  $3.25. 
"Finden's  Royal  Gallery  of  British  Art,"  48  line  en- 
gravings, proofs  before  letter,  published  at  £80,  fetched 
$50.  A  Bible,  supposed  by  Dibdin  and  others  to  be 
the  second  edition  of  the  Latin  Bible,  printed  at  Str.as- 
burg  ,by  Eggesteyn,  $20;  a  copy  of  Eliot's  Indian 
Bible,  2  vols.  4to,  was  purchased  by  Norton  for  $200, 


84  FORTY   YEARS  AMONG 

^  This  Bible  is  printed  in  the  Natick  or  Nipmuck  lan- 
guage, remarkable  for  its  long  words.  We  believe 
this  same  copy  was  sold  some  years  since  by  Bartlett 
&  Welford  for  $40.  A  copy  of  the  first  edition  of  the 
Rhemish  Testament,  $20.  The  gem  of  the  collection 
was  Tyndal's  "Translation  of  the  Pentateuch,  Em- 
printed  at  Marlborow  in  the  land  of  Hesse,  by  me, 
Hans  Luft,  in  the  yere  of  our  Lord,  1530,  the  XVII. 
days  of  Januarii,"  18mo.,  black  letter,  with  numerous 
curious  wood  cuts,  a  suberb  copy  in  antique  morocco,  by 
Hayday,  with  fac  similes  by  Harris.  This  volume  cost 
over  $100  to  bind  and  complete,  and  is  considered  the 
second  best  copy  known.  On  account  of  some  delay  in 
binding,  this  bibliographical  treasure  was  not  received 
in  time  for  the  sale  ;  we  understand  that  Mr.  Norton 
offered  $800  for  it,  but  it  was  not  accepted.  An  Illum- 
inated Missal  of  the  thirteenth  century  brought  $12; 
"Commentary  on  the  Penitential  Psalms,"  black  let- 
ter, Wynkyn  de  Worde,  1507,  $30  ;  "Institvtion  of  a 
Christen  Man ;  conteynge  the  Exposytion  or  Inter- 
pretation of  the  commune  Creed,  of  the  seuen  Sacra- 
mentes,  of  the  X  Commandmentes,  and  of  the  Pater 
Noster,  and  the  Ave  Maria,  Justyfication  and  Purga- 
tory," 4  to.,  black  letter,  Lond.  1537;  $16;  "  Summa 
de  Articulus  Fidei  et  Ecclesise  Sacramentes,"  Thomas 
de  Aquinas,  printed  with  the  types  of  the  Catholicon 
of  1460,  and  exceedingly  rare ;  is  one  of  the  purest 
.  specimens  of  early  typography  by  Guttenburg,  and 
7  esteemed  the  earliest  specimen  of  printing  held  in  this 
country,  was  sold  for  $20,  very  low. 

In  the  department  of  Theology,  Mr.  Corwin's  Li- 
brary possessed  many  curious  and  rare  Tracts,  with 


frf6 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  85 

quaint  titlep,  such  as  "Echoes  from  the  Sixth  Trumpet 
reverberated  by  a  review  of  neglected  remembrances. 
Imprinted  in  the  year  Chronogramically  expressed  in 
this  seasonable  praver; — LorD  haVe  MerCTe  Vpon 
Vs,"  by  George  Wither,  1661,  $5;  "The  Belgick  Pis-  ^ 
mire  stinging  the  Slothful,  Sleeper,  and  awakening 
the  diligent  to  watch,  fast  and  pray,"  &c.,  1622,  .$2.25. 
"  The  Boke  of  the  Olde  God  and  the  Newe,  of  the  Old 
Fayth  and  the  Newe,  of  the  Old  Doctryne  and  the 
Newe;  or  the  Orygynale  Begynnynge  of  Idolatrye," 
black  letter,  very  rare,  $8.  "  Fovr  Godly e  Sermons 
agaynst  the  Polvtion  of  Idolatrye,"  by  John  Calvin, 
1561,  $3,25.  Davenport's  "Discourse  about  Civil 
Government,"  $2.50.  "  The  Kebuke  Rebuked,  in  a 
brief  answer  to  Caleb  Pusey,  his  Scurrilous  Pamphlet, 
entitled  a  Rebuke  to  Daniel  Leeds,  &c.  Wherein 
WilliafYi  Penn  his  Sandy  Foundation  is  fairly  quoted, 
showing  that  he  calls  Christ  the  Finite  Impotent  Crea-  '- 
ture;'  N.  Y.,  W.  Bradford,  1703,  $8;  "Issachar's  /" 
Asse  Braying  Vnder  a  double  Burden ;  or,  the  Vnit- 
ing  of  Churches,  1622,  $4.50.  "Christian  Sodality, 
or  the  Catholic  Hive  of  Bees,"  1652,  50  cents.  "The 
Connecticut  Dissenter's  Strong  Box,"  1802,  $1.  "  The 
Dippers  Dipped,  or  the  Anabaptists  ducked  and 
plunged  over  head  and  ears  at  a  disputation  at  South- 
wark,"  etc.  By  D.  Featly,  1657,  $7.  Among  the  law 
books  was  a  "  Complete  collection  of  the  Laws  of 
Maryland,"  Annapolis,  1727,  the  first  book  printed  in 
Maryland,  and  very  rare,  which  sold  for  $27.50.  Of 
works  on  America,  the  catalogue  had  a  very  good 
collection  ;  a  copy  of  Mather's  "  Magnalia  Christi  " 
brought  $50.     "  A  Relation  of  the  Troubles  which 


4^^U4    H^. 


B6  FORTY  YEARS  AMONG 

have  hapnd  in  New  England,  by  reason  of  the  In- 
dians there,"  by  Increase  Mather,  Boston,  1677,  $19. 
A  further  account  of  the  "Tryals  of  the  New  England 
Witches,"  by  the  same,  Lond.  1693,  $6.50.  "Historia 
der  Newen  Welt,  &c."  Marburg  and  Frankfort,  1557, 
$12.  There  were  many  volumes  of  rare  pamphlets; 
one  set,  39  in  number,  chiefly  political,  relating  to 
Colonial  difficulties,  brought  $195.  Among  Auto- 
graphs, a  book  of  about  300,  none  very  rare,  sold  for 
$37.  An  original  letter  of  Fulton,  referring  to  the 
establishment  of  steamers  on  James  River,  $10;  one 
of  Cotton  Mather,  dated  Boston,  1712,  sold  for  $21. 

A  number  of  orders  for  the  above  sale  were  received 
from  London  Booksellers,  and  purchases  to  a  consid- 
erable extent  were  made  for  the  British  Museum. 

MR.  BRINLEY'S  TREASURES  SCATTERED. 
{March,  1879.)     idt.^i 

A  TOTAL   OF  $48,830.75  FOR  ABOUT  2,700  LOTS — INCI- 
DENTS AND  PRICES  OF  YESTERDAY'S  SALE — 
THE  PRINCIPAL  PURCHASERS — PROFITS 
OF  BOOK-COLLECTING. 

The  auctioneer's  hammer  fell  upon  the  last  volume 
of  the  first  part  of  Mr.  Brinley's  American  library  at 
9:15  last  evening,  completing  the  dispersion  of  the 
greatest  collection  of  Americana  ever  sold  in  this 
country,  and  which,  in  some  departments,  stood  un- 
rivaled in  the  world.  There  was  no  fag  end  to  the 
sale,  the  last  day  being  quite  as  interesting  as  any  that 
preceded  it,  though  the  average  of  prices  was  natur- 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  87 

ally  lower,  as  many  of  the  lots  were  unbound  tracts 
and  pamphlets  of  no  special  rarity.  But  the  mo- 
notony of  half-dollar  bids  was  often  relieved  by  an  ani- 
mated contest  for  a  precious  "nugget."  Such,  for 
instance,  was  the  extremely  rare  copy  of  the  Saybrook 
'*  Confession  and  Platform "  of  the  Connecticut 
Churches,  New-London,  1710,  the  first  book  printed 
in  the  State.  This  copy  is  nearly  uncut,  abounding 
in  proof  leaves,  and  Mr.  Leiter,  of  Chicago,  bid  it  off 
at  $100.  Another  copy,  slightly  smaller,  went  to 
Yale  for  $75,  and  the  Lenox  Library  secured  the 
third  copy  at  the  same  price.  Another  exceedingly 
rare  book,  Bernard  Romans'  "Annals  of  the  Troubles 
in  the  Netherlands,"  two  volumes  in  one,  Hartford, 
1778-82,  fetched  $41.  An  uncut  copy  of  Ezra  Stiles's 
"Three  Judges  of  King  Charles  L,"  Hartford,  1794, 
accompanied  by  another  copy  containing  the  plates, 
sold  for  $30.  The  scarce  tracts  relating  to  the  Susque- 
tff^  hanna  Company's  land  sold  for  good  prices,  $61  being 
paid  for  "Gale's  Letter  to  J.  W.,"  1769,  and  $32  for 
"The  State  of  the  Lands,"  etc.,  New  York,  1770. 
The  first  volume  of  verse  ever  printed  in  Connecticut, 
Roger  Walcott's  "Poetical  Meditations,"  New  Lon- 
don, 1725,  fetched  $40,  for  the  Lenox  Library. 
Major  John  Talcott's  manuscript  account-book, 
1674-88,  including  his  accounts  as  Treasurer  during 
the  Indian  wars,  1675-6,  fetched  $105,  and  was 
bought  by  Mr.  Hoadley  for  the  Connecticut  State 
Library.  Among  its  other  curious  entries  is  an  item 
acknowledging  the  receipt  of  a  seven-year  old  Indian 
girl  to  balance  accounts,  and  a  payment  of  10  shil- 
lings to  William  Edwards,  "for  taking  Henry  Green 


/fl 


88  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

out  of  the  Dungeon,  being  dead,  cutting  ofl'  his  legs  to 
save  his  irons,  and  seeing  to  his  burial."  '  A  volume 
of  Silas  Deane's  Manuscript  Memorials  to  Congress, 
1798-9,  fetched  S45.  There  was  a  waking  up  over 
lot  No.  2171,  "New  Haven's  Setthng  in  New  Eng- 
land, and  Some  Laws  for  Government,"  printed  in 
London  in  1656.  The  bidding  was  determined,  and 
when  it  stopped  the  book  was  knocked  down  to  J. 
Hammond  Trumbull  for  $380.  This  excessively  rare 
volume  was  a  few  years  ago  in  the  possession  of  John 
Eussell  Smith,  the  London  bookseller,  who  priced  it 
in  one  of  his  catalogues  at  £18.  As  soon  as  Mr. 
Brinley  received  a  catalogue,  he  at  once  ordered  the 
book  by  cable,  and  got  it.  About  that  time  Mr. 
Henry  Stevens,  of  Vermont,  and  elsewhere,  landed  on 
the  shores  of  his  adopted  Albion,  after  a  short  visit  to 
this  country.  He  made  all  haste  to  Smith's  book- 
store, intent  on  the  purchase  of  this  very  copy.  He 
was  informed  that  it  was  sold.  With  a  look  of  inex- 
pressible sadness,  not  unmixed  with  hope,  he  oflered 
to  give  £50  for  the  book  if  Mr.  Smith  would  cancel 
the  first  bargain.  The  incorruptible  Mr.  Smith  re- 
fused, and  "New-Haven's  Settling "  came  to  Hart- 
ford. Previous  to  its  arrival  the  copy  in  the  Anti- 
quarian Society  Library  at  Worcester  was  regarded 
as  unique.  But  Mr.  Brinley  had  no  regard  for  that_ 
word.  He  straightway  procured  another  copy.  Mr. 
W.  F.  Poole,  of  Chicago,  chanced  to  find  one  in  Cin- 
cinnati, with  which  its  owner,  whose  mind  was  doubt- 
less intent  on  pigs,  consented  to  part  for  $5,  and  it 
was  made  over  to  Mr.  Brinley  for  that  sum.  This 
copy  sold  last  night  for  $310,  for  the  Connecticut 


THE    OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  89 

State  Library,  Its  title  and  portions  of  the  first  leaf 
—  have  been  restored  in  fac-simile  by  Burt.  A  probably 
unique  pamphlet  of  15  pages  by  Roger  Sherman,  with 
his  autograph,  entitled  "A  Caveat  against  Injustice, 
or  an  inquiry  into  the  Evil  Consequences  of  a  Fluctu- 
ating Medium  of  Exchange,"  New  York,  1752, 
fetched  $100.  Two  volumes  of  the  Connecticut  Ga- 
zette, from  April  12,  1755,  to  March  5,  1757,  went  to 
the  Yale  Library  at  $160.  Mr,  Brayton  Ives  secured 
the  first  book  printed  in  New  Haven,  a  book  of  Yale 
College  laws,  printed  in  1755,  for  $26 ;  the  first  book 
printed  in  Hartford,  Thomas's  "Explanation"  of  the 
Saybrook  platform,  1765,  cost  him  only  $5.  A  series 
of  11  very  rare  almanacs,  various  years  from  1753  to 
1770,  fetched  $99.  The  Lenox  Library  bought  a 
copy  of  the  Acts  and  Laws  of  Rhode  Island,  Newport, 
by  James  Franklin,  1730,  for  $130,  and  a  series  of 
acts  and  laws  from  1745  to  1752,  for  $60,  The  same 
buyer  secured  for  $50  Rev.  James  Macsparran's 
"America  Dissected,"  1733.  The  first  book  printed 
in  Rhode  Island,  "  The  Rhode  Island  Almanac  for  the 
Year  1728,"  printed  in  that  year  by  J.  Franklin,  was 
bought  for  the  Library  of  Congress  for  $35.  Thomas 
supposed  the  first  production  of  the  Rhode  Island 
press  to  have  been  issued  in  1732.  A  rare  broadside 
poem  relating  to  Dartmouth  College,  "  The  Wilder- 
ness shall  Blossom  as  the  Rose,"  probably  written  by 
John  Wheelock,  son  of  Dr.  Eleazar  Wheelock,  and 
printed  about  1774,  fetched  $5  for  the  Library  of 
Congress. 

An   extraordinary  degree  of  interest  was  aroused 
over  the  lots  relating  to  the  New  Hampshire  grants 


90  J"ORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

and  the  disputes  between  New  York,  the  Yerraont- 
ers,  and  New  Hampshire.  Mr.  Brinley  had  had 
these  very  rare  pamphlets  bound  uniformly  in  full 
dark-green  crushed  levant  morocco,  plain,  and  all  were 
beautiful  specimens  of  Bedford's  best  work.  There 
was  a  contest  over  each  lot,  but  a  single  buyer, 
through  an  unlimited  bid  left  with  a  local  bookseller, 
bore  down  all  opposition,  and  secured  them  all  at  the 
following  prices:  "Some  Reflections  on  the  Disputes," 
probably  written  by  Col.  John  H.  Lydius,  and  printed 
in  1764,  $28  ;  "  The  Petition  of  the  Grantees  of  New 
Hampshire,"  with  autograph  signatures  of  57  Grant- 
ees, $26;  "  Tlie  Memorial  of  Peter  Livius,"  1773,  $26; 
Ethan  Allen's  "Brief  Narrative,"  177-1,  $45;  the 
same  author's  "Animadversory  Address,"  1778,  $26 ; 
"A  Public  Defense  of  the  Right  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Grants,"  1779,  $100  ;  Ethan  Allen's  "  Vindica- 
tion of  the  Vermonters,"  1779,  $105  ;  Allen  and  Fay's 
"Concise  Refutation,"  1780,  $50;  Bradley's  "Ver- 
mont's Appeal,"  $40 ;  Allen's  "  Present  State  of  the 
Controversy,"  1782,  $49;  a  copy  of  "A  Remonstrance 
of  the  Court  of  the  State  of  Vermont,"  1783,  $40. 
Mr.  L.  E.  Chittenden,  coming  in  late,  bought  an  un- 
cut copy  of  "A  Narrative  of  Ethan  Allen's  Captivity," 
by  himself,  1779,  for  $22.50.  After  local  history  had 
been  pursued  through  the  wilds  of  Vermont  and  New 
Hampshire,  and  lost  in  the  woods  of  Maine,  there  was 
a  brief  return,  in  the  addenda,  to  the  time  of  the 
Mathers.  Robert  Calaf  s  "  More  Wonders  of  the  In- 
visible World,"  a  cropped,  yet  perfect  copy,  was  sold 
for  $55 ;  a  copy  disposed  of  earlier  in  the  sale  fetched 
$190.     The  last  lot  sold   contained    Ethan   Allen's 


THE    OLD   BOOKSELLERS. 


91 


"Narrative,"  and  other  Vermont  matter,  and  fetched 
$10.75. 

The  results  of  each  day's  sale  are  as  follows : 


Monday  ,j $9,895  03 

Tuesday 12,715  65 

Wednesday  ....      10,991  18 


Thursday $5,348  13 

Friday 4,680  97 

Saturday 5,199  79 


Total $48,830  75 

This  is  a  good  round  sum  for  one-third  of  a  private 
collection.  Mr.  Menzies's  entire  library  fetched 
$50,000.    The  average  per  lot  is  $18.78  and  a  fraction. 

jit  is  the  general  judgment  of  the  best  informed  col- 
lectors who  attended  the  sale,  that  the  prices  realized 

1  were  high.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  estate  of  Mr. 
Brinley  will  receive,  in  the  total  sum,  a  handsome 
advance  on  the  amount  he  expended  on  these  books. 

.It  is  getting  to  be  understood  that  books  are  a  safer 
investment  than  real  estate.  The  results  of  the  sale 
are  important  to  bibliography,  for  the  prices  obtained 
will  be  quoted  in  hundreds  of  future  catalogues,  and 
they  form,  in  bulk,  a  valuable  report  of  the  Ameri- 
cana market  for  the  year  1879.  Priced  catalogues  of 
the  sale  will  soon  command  a  good  sura.  Many  pri- 
vate collections  and  public  libraries  have  been  greatly 
improved  by  purchase  at  this  sale.  The  American^ 
Antiquarian  Society's  Library  has  filled  many  of  the 
gaps  that  marred  its  collection  of  seventeenth  century 
American  books.  The  Lenox  Library  of  this  city 
has  largely  increased  its  stores  of  this  class  of  books 
— the  writings  of  the  Mathers,  witchcraft  literature, 
etc.  It  is  now  measurably  strong  in  these  directions, 
in  which,  however,  its  owner  has  never  aimed  at  com- 


92  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

pleteness.     The  J.  Carter  Brown  Library   at   Provi-    j 
dence  has  been  vastly  strengthened  in  Mather  books 
through  the  liberal  and  judicious  purchases  of  Mr.  J. 
R,  Bartlett,     The  Library  of  Congress  has  expended  y 
about  $3,000  at  the  sale,  and  has  secured  a  very  desir- 
able mass  of  literature  from  all  departments  of  the 
catalogue.     Mr.  Hoadley,  of    the  Connecticut  State  _ 
Library,  came  down  here  with  $5,000  to  spend,  of 
which  he  has  probably  used  not  more  than  one-half, 
reserving  the  other  half  for  future  opportunities.    The 
Yale  representatives  had  a  similar  amount  to  use  at 
this  sale,  but  it  was  not  all  spent.     Dr.  J.  Hammond 
Trumbull  has  bought  about  $5,000  worth  of  very  de- 
sirable lots  for  the  Watkinson  Library,  of  Hartford,  - 
making  usually   very  good   bargains,  for    which   he 
seems  to  have  a  peculiar  faculty,  that  is  of  great  ser- 
vice in  the  auction-room.    He  has  also  invested  about 
$1,500  for  his  own  collection.    Mr.  Leiter,  of  Chicago,  - 
has  enriched  his  collection  by  innumerable  purchases, 
and  the  Chicago  Public  Library  has  greatly  extended  - 
its  Americana.     Mr.  Murphy  made  several  important 
purchases    for     the   Brooklyn     Historical    Society's  - 
Library. 

The  scattering  of  such  a  collection  of  rare  books 
and  the  manner  of  their  dispersion  raise  again  the  old 
question.  How  long  will  these  be  any  such  books  to 
scatter?  Two-thirds  or  more  of  the  volumes  that 
Mr.  Brinley  has  been  thirty  years  in  getting  together 
have  gone  into  libraries  whence  they  will  never  come 
forth  for  sale.  They  are  beyond  the  book-hunter's 
reach.  This  phenomenon  is  ever  repeating  itself. 
How  long  a  time  must  elapse  before  the  public  libra- 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  93 

ries  will  have  absorbed  all  the  books  that  are  properly 

called  excessively  rare  ?     The  process  is  slow,  but  it 

is  exceeding  sure,  and  the  ultimate  consequence  seems 

to  be  as  certainly  demonstrable  as  a  proposition  in      Atmlnl'WtK^ 

geometry.  - — --' 

The  Washington  sale,  December  12, 1890,  at  Thomas 
Birch  &  Son's  auction  rooms,  1110  Chestnut  street,  was 
continued  yesterday.  The  sale  was  devoted  principally 
to  books,  many  of  which  had  autographs  of  either  the 
Washington  or  Lewis  families.  As  was  the  rule  at 
the  first  night's  session,  high  prices  were  given  for 
nearly  everything  bought,  because,  possibly,  the  arti- 
cles were  in  such  good  company.  The  ladies  who 
were  buying  for  the  Ladies'  Mt.  Vernon  Association  - 
of  the  Union  made  many  purchases,  and  bid  so  spirit- 
edly that  they  became  the  observed  of  all.  There 
were  many  articles  knocked  down  to  a  party  giving 
the  name  of  Wilson,  who  happened  to  be  Mr.  Benja-  - 
min  T.  Cable,  of  New  York. 

Henry  Home's  "Loose  Hints,"  printed  in  Edin- 
burgh, 1787,  and  bearing  Washington's  autograph  on 
the  title  page,  was  the  first  article  on  the  catalogue. 
It  was  knocked  down  to  the  Mount  Yernon  Associa- 
tion at  $85.  The  same  Society  gave  $77  for  Her- 
vey's  "  Meditations,"  London,  1750,  which  bears  four 
autographs  of  Mary  Washington,  the  mother  of  the 
first  President,  and  made  an  interesting  fight  for  a 
volume  of  the  "  Female  Spectator,"  of  which  there 
were  three.  However,  they  were  purchased  by  Mr. 
Murphy,  agent  for  W.  E.  Hearst,  the  California  mil-  ^ 
lionaire,  for  $160  a  volume. 

Martha  Washington's  Bible,  which  has  had   300 


94  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

copper  plates  engraved  by  John  Sturt  inserted,  was 
won,  after  a  lively  fight,  by  Mitchell,  the  New  York 
bookseller,  for  $760,  and  A.  J.  Bowden,  the  member 
of  the  firm  who  made  the  purchase,  remarked  after 
the  sale  that  it  was  very  cheap  at  that  figure.  The 
book,  which  was  printed  at  Oxford,  1789,  and  which 
contains  two  signatures  of  Martha  Washington,  in 
addition  to  the  family  record  of  the  Lewises,  was 
started  at  $500.  It  ran  up  rapidly  to  $750,  and  then, 
just  as  the  auctioneer  was  about  to  drop  the  gavel, 
$760  was  bid,  the  highest  amount  given  yesterday. 

After  the  Bible  was  sold,  Martha  Washington's  fan, 
described  in  the  catalogue  as  "  a  beautiful  composition 
of  ivory,  steel  and  lace,"  which  is  extremely  small, 
was  the  cause  of  much  spirited  bidding.  From  a 
start  at  $50  it  ran  rapidly,  by  $5  and  $10,  up  to 
$230 — when  it  was  awarded  to  "  Wilson." 

Gray's  Poems,  London,  1768,  on  the  title  page  of 
which  is  written  "  John  Randolph,  Virginia,  1787," 
was  given  to  Hearst  for  $130,  while  a  school  book, 
Rigg's  "New  American  Latin  Grammar,"  published 
in  New  York,  1788,  which  had  been  used  by  Wash- 
ington's adopted  son,  and  which  had  been  enriched 
with  scribblings  in  a  youthful  hand  of  the  original 
owner,  brought  $12. 

The  "Grammatical  Exercise  Book,"  a  copy  book 
in  the  handwriting  of  Eleanor  Parke  Custis,  Wash- 
ington's adopted  daughter,  was  sold  to  W.  R.  Benja- 
min, of  New  York,  for  $20.  A  volume  of  piano 
music  once  owned  by  that  lady,  which  included, 
among  other  rare  pieces,  the  overture  to  "  The  De- 
serter," "  The  Federal  March,"  as  performed  in  the 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  95 

procession  July  4,  1788,  and  the  chorus  sung  before 
Washington  as  he  passed  under  the  triumphal  arch 
raised  on  the  Trenton  bridge,  April  21st,  1789,  was 
knocked  down  to  "Wilson"  for  $90.  The  same  per- 
son got  another  music  book,  which  contained  the  first 
edition  of  "  Hail  Columbia,"  for  $70.  Judge  Mitch- 
ell was  given  another  volume  of  music,  which  was 
considered  valuable  on  account  of  a  bust  portrait  of 
Washington  engraved  on  the  title  page  of  the  "  Battle 
of  Trenton,"  a  sonata,  for  $115.  The  portrait  is  be- 
lieved to  be  one  of  the  rarest  of  Washington's,  and 
Mr.  Baker,  the  well-known  collector,  is  said  to  have 
remarked  that  it  was  unknown  to  him. 

Dr.  Eobert  H.  Lamborn,  of  New  York,  gave  $20 
for  a  common-looking  oblong  quarto,  in  boards, 
"  Episcopalian  Harmony,"  which  bears  the  autograph 
of  Eleanor  Parke  Lewis  on  the  cover.  The  Doctor 
also  became  possessor  of  an  invitation  card  of  Wash- 
ington, which  "  requested  the  pleasure  of  Miss  Peggy 
Chew's  company  "  at  an  entertainment,  for  $18.  He 
also  got  a  receipt  signed  by  the  General,  for  $15. 

A  portrait  of  Washington,  which  is  supposed  to 
have  been  painted  by  Gilbert  Stuart,  aod  which  was 
bought  at  the  sale  of  the  effects  of  President  Madison, 
went  for  $170.  A  letter  signed  by  Washington  at 
Valley  Forge  was  sold  for  $150,  although  the  letter 
was  in  another  hand. 

A  small  portrait,  said  to  have  been  painted  in  Wil- 
liamsburg, Va.,  in  1755,  and  supposed  to  represent 
George  Washington  at  that  time,  was  sold  for  $220, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  auctioneer  would 
not  vouch  for  the  truth  of  the  statement,  although  he 
said  he  had  every  reason  to  believe  it. 


96  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

A  finely  painted  portrait  of  Washington,  supposed 
to  have  been  the  work  of  William  Birch,  went  to 
Judge  Mitchell  for  $90.  The  smallest  price  paid  for 
anything  at  the  afternoon  session  was  15  cents,  given 
by  the  Mt.  Vernon  Association  for  three  odd  volumes 
of  the  "Penny  Magazine." 

The  evening  session  concluded  the  sale,  which  settles 
the  Washington  estate,  although  other  Washingtoni- 
ana  are  to  be  sold  to-day.  The  Ladies'  Mount  Ver- 
non Association  of  the  Union  made  large  purchases 
of  books,  which  generally  brought  small  prices  as 
compared  with  the  early  part  of  the  sale.  Marshall's 
Life  of  Washington,  6  volumes,  Philadelphia,  1804, 
went  for  $1.25  a  volume.  The  second  Boston  Edition 
of  the  Official  Letters  of  Washington,  Boston,  1796, 
with  the  rare  portrait  by  S.  Hill,  was  knocked  down 
to  Judge  Mitchell  for  $12.50.  Two  ledgers,  contain- 
ing accounts  of  various  individuals  with  the  executors 
of  the  Washington  estate,  were  bought  for  S50  apiece. 
A  large  number  of  autograph  letters  from  various 
eminent  persons,  in  relation  to  the  same  estate,  were 
sold  at  prices  ranging  from  five  cents  to  $5.50,  the 
latter  amount  having  been  given  for  one  by  Henry 
Clay. 

The  most  interesting  incident  in  the  evening's  sale, 
and  one  which  astonished  the  auctioneer  himself,  was 
the  sale  of  the  last  lot.  This  was  an  innocent-looking 
lot  of  apparent  rubbish,  and  was  catalogued  as  "  Docu- 
ments and  receipts  received  by  the  executors  in  set- 
tling the  estate  of  George  Washington."  There  were 
enough  of  them  to  fill  a  bushel  basket,  and  some  one 
started  the  lot  with  a  bid  of  $7.     He  soon  fell  out  of 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  97 

the  race,  however,  and  only  two  were  left  in  it. 
These  were  W.  R.  Benjamin  and  A.  J.  Bowden,  of 
Mitchell's,  New  York.  They  fought  for  it  by  $10  at 
a  time,  and  it  was  finally  knocked  down  to  Mr.  Benja- 
min. The  lot  was  said  to  contain  many  interesting 
and  important  documents,  among  them  being  a  bill 
for  mourning  worn  at  Washington's  funeral. 

The  receipts  for  the  day  amounted  to  $4928,  which 
with  those  of  the  previous  day,  which  were  $9885  in- 
stead of  the  amount  published,  makes  a  total  of 
$14,813. 

Desiring  to  place  as  much  bibliographical  matter  as 
I  have  collected  in  this  brochure  for  the  edification  of 
old  booksellers  and  collectors  of  old  books,  I  extract 
from  an  old  copy  of  the  Public  Ledger  of  this  city, 
written — I  forget  when — at  least  a  few  years  ag». 
The  data  are  interesting  and  the  gossip  good : 

SOMETHING  ABOUT  OLD  BOOKS  AND  THEIR 
BUYERS. 

"Saur  Bible,  $275."  This  was  the  inscription 
written  on  a  piece  of  paper  attached  to  an  old  leather- 
covered  book  in  the  window  of  a  Sansom  street  store 
yesterday,  and  to  a  Ledger  reporter,  who  entered  the 
store,  Mr.  Campbell,  the  proprietor,  courteously 
showed  the  curious  volume.  "  It  is  a  nice  copy,  isn't 
it  ?  "  he  queried,  as  he  looked  with  an  affectionate 
sort  of  expression  upon  the  work.  It  was  "  nice  "  in 
a  sense,  and  in  that  sense,  doubtless,  the  very  tattered 
7 


98  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

condition  of  the  back  and  the  general  ancientry  of  the 
book's  appearance  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  its 
niceness, 

"Isn't  that  a  nice  price,  too?"  he  was  asked. 
"  The  last  one  sold,"  was  the  reply,  "  was  disposed  of 
at  the  Brinley  sale  for  $300.  This  one  is,  perhaps, 
the  only  original  Saur  Bible  now  offered  for  sale  in  this 
country,  the  others  being  in  the  hands  of  private  col- 
lectors, who  do  not  care  to  dispose  of  them.  This, 
you  will  understand,  is  one  of  the  original  editions. 
The  next  edition  is  that  worth  only  $15  a  copy. 
This  one  was  next  to  the  Elliott  Judson  Bible,  which 
was  the  first  printed  in  America.  The  oldest  Bible  I 
have  handled  was  the  Coburger,  published  about 
1488,  I  sold  it  to  Dr.  C.  E.  Early,  a  collector  up  in 
the  State,  for  $30." 

There  were  law  books  of  all  kinds  and  of  nearly  all 
sizes  stacked  about,  and  inquiries  were  made  concern- 
ing them  and  their  prices.  "  Old  law  books,"  said 
Mr.  Campbell,  "  are  extremely  valuable  when  they 
are  of  the  right  sort.  Some  time  ago  I  picked  up  a 
copy  of  the  laws  of  New  Jersey  for  $5.  I  knew  the 
book,  but  nobody  else  at  the  sale  seemed  to  have  sim- 
ilar knowledge  of  it,  as  it  was  not  specially  designated. 
That  book  is  worth  $500.  The  first  law  book  in  the 
English  language  was  the  'Doctor  and  the  Student,' 
a  conversational  treatise  on  English  laws,  published 
about  1531.  I  sold  a  copy  of  it  some  time  ago  to  a 
lawyer  from  Wyoming  county  for  $30.  Here  is  a 
specimen  of  what  is  known  as  the  'Second  Bradford,' 
*fl  a  copy  of  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania,  published  in 
1728.     It  is  worth  about  $40.     The  next  compilation 


THE    OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  99 

after  that  is  Benjamin  Franklin's,  about  1742 ;  it  is 
worth,  say  $15.  The  first  Bradford  edition,  published 
in  1714,  is  worth  $300  a  copy.  There  does  not  exist 
in  print  a  complete  set  of  the  Laws  of  Pennsylvania  ; 
there  are  only  two  complete  sets  that  I  know  of  at  all. 
One  set  is  owned  by  John  Cadwalader,  son  of  Judge 
Cadwalader,  and  the  other  is  in  the  possession,  of  ¥.  C. 
Brightly.  These  sets  are  partially  made  up  of  certi- 
fied copies." 

To  Mr.  Stuart,  who  was  found  amid  books  that 
make  a  literary  wilderness  of  his  well-known  store, 
the  reporter  observed:  "You  probably  have  some 
very  rare  old  books  here."  "Well,  yes,"  was  the  re- 
sponse, spoken  with  a  hesitancy  born  of  perplexing 
anticipations  of  having  to  name  over  some  hundreds 
of  works.  "  Do  you  find  the  demand  of  your  custo- 
mers running  towards  specialties?"  was  the  next 
question.  On  this  point  it  might  be  stated  just  here 
what  Mr.  Campbell  said  of  specialists  among  old  book 
hunters.  "  A  gentleman  was  here  on  Saturday  who 
wanted  anything  I  could  find  in  print  on  eating  and 
drinking;  another  wants  whatever  I  can  get  on  fish- 
ing; a  third  has  a  weakness  for  books  bearing  on  the 
French  rebellion,  and  so  on ;  there  is  scarcely  a  subject 
that  doesn't  have  its  patrons.  "I  have  one  customer," 
he  said,  "that  wants  whatever  I  can  give  him  on  the 
subject  of  Indians ;  another  wants  everything  pertain- 
ing to  the  late  war  of  the  Rebellion."  "  The  latter 
searcher  is  evidently  a  large  buyer,  then,"  remarked 
the  reporter. 

"  The  literature  of  the  Rebellion  is  enormous,"  re- 
plied Mr.  Stuart.     "  Here  is  Bartlett's  Catalogue,  pre- 


100  FORTY  YEARS  AMONG 

pared  in  1864-5,  and  it  gives  6078  distinct  titles  of 
works  and  papers  on  that  subject.  Since  that  time 
there  have  been  fully  20,000  more  published.  So  you 
can  judge  from  that  what  a  task  it  is  to  try  and  get  a 
library  complete  on  that  subject.  The  gentleman  I 
refer  to  takes  matter  from  public  documents  and  even 
from  magazine  articles,  and  binds  them  separately,  as 
a  contribution  to  his  stock. 

"  Here  is  a  somewhat  rare  old  book  [pointing  to  a 
large  bound  volume  laying  on  a  desk]  that  I  got  hold 
of  a  few  days  ago.  This  is  the  Ephrata  Martyr 
Book,  published  by  the  Dunkards  at  Ephrata,  in  this 
State,  in  1748.  It  is  one  of  the  handsomest  speci- 
es, mens  of  colonial  typography  that  I  have  ever  seen, 
and  one  of  the  largest  ever  published.  I  traced  it 
after  no  little  trouble  to  the  possession  of  a  farmer 
in  Lancaster  county,  possibly  a  descendant  ot  some 
Dunkard  family,  and  finally  succeeded  in  getting  it.  It 
is  worth  $100,  The  farmer  brought  it  here  himself, 
When  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society  bought 
from  Abraham  H.  Castle  his  collection  of  German 
Colonial  imprints,  probably  the  largest  in  the  State,  he 
put  the  whole  lot  of  them  in  a  big  wagon,  drove  down 
-^/i^lirt  here  with  them  from  his  home  in  Bucks  county,  and 

T*^„.*  delivered  them  to  the  Historical  Society." 

I  have  noted  at  various  times  the  prices  brought  by 
rare  books  at  auctions  and  at  private  sales,  "The 
Mazarin  Bible"  is  so  called  because  it  first  was  owned 
by  the  celebrated  Cardinal  Mazarin.  or  at  least  it 
■was  first  noticed  by  bibliographers  in  the  Cardinal's 


THE   OLD  BOOKSELLERS.  101 

library.  There  are  but  few  copies  extant,  and  when 
offered  at  sale  they  bring  a  large  price.  It  bears  no  date^ 
but  the  best  authorities  class  it  as  printed  about  1454 
and  1456.  There  is  no  question  but  it  is  one  of  the 
earliest  books  printed.  The  largest  price  quoted  at 
auction  is  $11,000.  Elliot's  Indian  Bible  is  well 
known  ;  the  price  has  fluctuated  very  much,  from  $80 
to  $700.  In  Corwin's  sale  of  books  I  find  Field's 
Battle  of  Long  Island  brought  $75.  Harvand's  Book, 
2  vols.,  $106.  Phillips'  Historical  Collection  of  Money,  ~ 
$28.  This  book  was  printed  by  Joel  Munsell,  of  Al- 
bany, N.  Y.,  in  2  vols.,  at  $5.  Life  of  Joseph  Eeed, 
by  W.  B.  Eeed,  in  2  vols.,  cloth,  $18.  This  book  was 
published  in  this  city  by  the  old  firm  of  Lindsay  and 
Blakiston,  and  was  very  common  thirty-five  years 
ago.  I  have  sold  it  for  $1^0 — it  was  published  at 
$5.  Stevens'  Historical  Nuggets,  2  vols.,  $25.  A  '^ 
copy  of  my  "  Centennial  Book  of  the  Signers"  brought 
at  Murphy's  sale,  in  New  York  in  1884,  $445.  It 
was  the  Large  Folio  Edition,  and  sold  by  me  for  $25. 
This  copy  was  largely  illustrated  with  original  auto- 
graphs— how  many  I  don't  know.  In  Cook's  sale  a 
similar  copy,  not  illustrated,  without  additions,  brought 
$25. 

I  published  in  the  Historical  Magazine^  May   1859,    • 
a  Memoir  and  Bibliography  of  William   Bradford's 
works.     He  was  among  the  earliest  printers  of  books 


102  FORTY  YEARS  AMONG 

in  this  country,  and  being  the  earliest  American  im- 
prints^ his  works  are  eagerly  sought  after  by  old 
book  collectors.  I  mention  elsewhere  where  one  of 
his  works,  "  The  Laws  of  New  York,"  brought  at 
Brindley's  sale  $1600,  though  he  had  bought  it  in 
this  city  for  $16..  I  deem  this  account  will  be  of 
value  to  the  old  booksellers  and  old  book  collectors. 


BIBLIOGEAPHY   OF   WILLIAM 
BRADFOED'S  BOOKS. 


|ATAL0GU:E  of  works  printed  by  William 
Bradford,  A.  D.  1686.  In  the  Quaker  Library 
in  London  is  a  small  4to.  tract  of  four  to  six 
leaves,  printed  by  Bradford,  at  Philadelphia,  in  1686. 
I  have  not  been  able  to  procure  the  title.  (This  on 
the  authority  of  H.  Stevens,  Esq.,  who  informs  me  he 
has  the  full  title.) 

I  am  unacquainted  with  the  subject  matter  of  the 
above,  and  can  give  no  information  respecting  them. 
You  will  notice  that  they  are  only  tracts,  not  books, 
in  the  correct  acceptation  of  the  word. 

A.  D.  1687.  An  almanac  for  the  year  of  the  Chris- 
tian account,  1687,  particularly  respecting  the  meri- 
dian and  latitude  of  Burlington,  but  may  indifferently 
serve  all  places  adjacent,  by  Daniel  Leeds,  Student  in 
Agriculture.  Printed  and  sold  by  William  Bradford, 
near  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  pro  anno  1687. 

This  is  a  sheet  almanack,  with  a  compartment  for 
each  of  the  months,  the  year  commencing  with  March 
C103) 


104  FORTY  YEARS   AMONG 

and  ending  with  February;  at  the  bottom  is  an  ex- 
planation, list  of  the  eclipses  for  the  year,  courts  and 
fairs  at  Burlington  and  Philadelphia,  with  some  short 
rules  in  husbandry. 

Some,  if  not  all  copies,  have  a  notice  that  "There 
is  now  in  the  Press  The  excellent  Privilege  of  Liberty      _j^ 
and  Prosperity,  to  which  is  added  a  Guide  for  the 
Grand  and  Petit  Jury." 

This  has  always  been  considered  to  be  the  first  issue 
from  Bradford's  press,  until  the  discovery  of  the  tract 
in  the  Quakers'  Library  at  London. 

A.  D.  1688.  The  Temple  of  Wisdom  for  the  Lit- 
tie  World  in  Two  Parts.  The  First  Philosophically 
Divine,  treating  of  the  Being  of  all  Beings,  and  whence 
everything  hath  its  original,  as  Heaven,  Hell,  Angels, 
Men  and  Devils,  Earth,  Stars,  and  Elements,  and  par- 
ticularly of  all  mysteries  concerning  the  Soul ;  and  of 
Adam  before  and  after  the  Fall.  Also  the  Treatise  of 
the  four  Complexions,  with  the  Causes  of  Spiritual 
Sadness,  etc.  To  which  is  added  a  postscript  to  all 
Students  in  Arts  and  Sciences,  etc.  The  Second  Part, 
Morally  Divine,  Contains : 

First.  Abuses,  Stript  and  Whipt,  by  Geo.  Wither, 
with  a  description  of  Fair  Virtue. 

Secondly.  A  Collection  of  Divine  Poems  from  Fr. 
Quarles. 

Lastly.  Essays  and  Religious  Meditation  of  Sir 
Francis  Bacon,  Knight, 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  105 

Collected,  Published  and  intended  for  general  Good, 
by  D.  L,  Printed  and  sold  by  Wm.  Bradford,  in 
Phila.     Anno  1688. 

Collation.  Title,  one  leaf;  Preface,  two  and  a  half 
pages.  Jacob  Baume,  to  the  Doctors,  etc.,  three 
pages,  pp.  1  to  126.  Title  to  second  part  with  Brad- 
ford's imprint,  1688.  Notice  to  the  Eeader,  pp.  3  to 
87,  and  one  page  of  errata.     Quarto. 

Bacon's  Works.  Montague's  Edition,  vol.  16,  note 
31.  (Life,  page  37.)  At  the  close  of  the  note,  Mr. 
Montague  states  that  this  was  the  first  book  printed 
in  Philadelphia,  and  I  have  no  doubt  of  it ;  my  copy 
is  in  the  finest  state  of  preservation,  and  clean  as  when 
issued.     'Tis  the  rarest  of  rare  American  books. 

A.  D.  1689,  Gershom  Bulkeley.  A  tract  by  him, 
printed  by  Bradford  at  Philadelphia,  in  1687;  eight 
leaves  4to. ;  a  copy  of  which  is  in  the  New  York  His- 
torical Library,  and  another  in  the  British  Museum 
(same  authority  as  above). 

A.  D.  1689.  Keith's  Presbyterian  and  Independent 
Visible  Churches  in  New  England.  Printed  by  Brad- 
ford at  Philadelphia,  1689.  This  work  was  reprinted 
at  London  in  1689-1691  A.  D. 

The  People's  Bights  to  Election,  or  Alteration  of 
Government  in  Connecticut,  argued  in  a  letter  by 
Gershom  Bulkeley,  Esq.,  one  of  their  Majesties'  Jus- 
tices of  the  Peace  in  the  County  of  Hartford,  &ic. 
4to.,  Philadelphia,  1689. 


106  FORTY  YEARS  AMONG 

A.  D.  1692.  Blood  will  Out;  or  an  Example  of 
Truth  by  Plain  Evidence  of  the  Holy  Sriptures;  viz., 
Pardon  Tillinghast,  B.  Keech  and  Cotton  Mather,  and 
a  few  words  of  a  letter  to  Cotton  Mather.  By  George 
Keith,  Philadelphia.  Printed  and  sold  by  Wm.  Brad- 
ford, 1690,  4to.,  pp.  74. 

A.  D.  1690.  A  Eefutation  of  Three  Opposers  of 
Lfj  Justice  in  the  Tryal,  Condemnation,  Confession,    and 

Execution  of  Thomas  Sutherland,  who  barbarously 
murdered  John  Clark  of  Philadelphia,  and  was  exe- 
cuted at  Salem,   in  West  Jersey,  28  February,  1692. 

A.  D,  1692,  Keith's  Serious  Appeal,  etc.  Brad- 
ford, Philadelphia,  1692. 

A.  D.  1692.  An  Appeal  from  the  Twenty-eight 
Judges  to  the  Spirit  of  Truth  and  True  Judgment  in 
all  Faithful  Friends,  called  Quakers,  that  meet  at  this 
yearly  meeting  at  Burlington,  the  7th  month,  1692. 
4to.,  no  date  or  place. 

This  book  was  printed  at  Philadelphia  in  1692,  by 
William  Bradford,  for  which  he  was  imprisoned  upon 
the  charge  of  "  uttering  and  spreading  a  malicous  and 
seditious  paper."  His  tools  and  type  were  taken 
away  from  him,  and  this  was  the  beginning  of  the 
persecution  which  afterward  drove  him  with  his 
printing  from  Philadelphia  to  New  York  in  1693. 
This  excessively  scarce  little  quarto  consists  of  eight 
pages  only. 


»6 


//? 


THE   OLD  BOOKSELLERS.  107 

A.  D.  1692.  A  Serious  Appeal  to  all  the  more 
Sober,  Impartial,  and  Judiqjous  people  of  New  Eng- 
land, into  whose  hands  this  may  come.  Printed  and 
sold  by  Wm,  Bradford,  at  Philadelphia,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, 1692.     4to.,  pp.  72. 

A.  D.  1692.  A  True  Copy  of  Three  Judgments 
given  forth  by  a  party  of  men  called  Quakers,  at 
Phila.,  against  George  Keith  and  his  friends ;  with 
two  Answers  to  the  said  Judgments.  4to.,  sheets, 
good  condition.  Printed  by  Wm.  Bradford,  in  Phila- 
delphia, 1692. 

On  the  verso  of  the  last  leaf  of  this  very  rare  and 
curious  book  is  a  list  of  the  Books  to  be  sold  by  Wm. 
Bradford,  in  Philadelphia,  1692,  with  the  prices;  and 
at  the  bottom  of  the  page  is  the  following  note : 
-^  "  And  whereas  it  is  reported  that  the  printer,  being  a 
favourer  of  G,  K.,  he  will  not  print  for  another,  wliich 
is  the  reason  that  the  other  party  appear  not  in  print 
as  well  as  G.  K.,  These  are  to  signify  that  the  printer 
hath  not  yet  refused  to  print  anything  for  either 
party;  and  also  signifies  that  he  doth  not  refuse,  and 
is  willing  and  ready  to  print  anything  for  either 
party  ;  and  also  signifies  that  he  doth  not  refuse,  and 
is  willing  and  ready  to  print  anything  for  the  future 
\  that  G.  K.'s  opposers  shall  bring  to  him."  15  pages, 
4to. 

A.  D.  1692.    A  Counter  Testimonial,  Signed  by 


108  FORTY   YEARS  AMONG 

seventy-eight  persons,  disavowing  all  those  concerned 
in  the  denial  of  Geo.  Keitl^  Written  by  Geo.  Keith, 
1692.  An  Expostulation  with  Samuel  Jennings, 
Thos.  Lloyd,  and  the  rest  of  the  seventy-eight  unjust 
judges  and  signers  of  the  condemnation  against  Geo. 
Keith  and  his  friends. 

A.  D.  1692.     The  plea  of  Innocent,  etc. 

A.  D.  1693.  Keith's  Heresie,  and  Hatred,  etc. 
Bradford,  Philadelphia,  1693. 

A.  D.  1693.  New  England's  spirit  of  persecution, 
and  transmitted  to  Pennsylvania,  and  the  pretended 
Quaker  found  persecuting  the  true  Christian  Quaker, 
in  the  trial  of  Peter  Boss,  Geo.  Keith,  Thos.  Budd, 
and  Wm.  Bradford,  at  the  session  held  at  Philadel- 
phia, December,  1692,  etc.  4:to.,  printed  1693,  where 
not  mentioned,  pp.  15. 

Tljis  is  Bradford's  own  account  of  his  trial ;  it  has 
been  questioned  whether  this  volume  was  really 
printed  in  Philadelphia,  because  Bradford  having 
suffered  imprisonment  for  printing  and  publishing 
"  The  Appeal,"  would  not  likely  have  ventured  to  is- 
sue a  work  of  this  character  there,  and  thereby  subject 
himself  to  a  probable  recurrence  of  difficulty.  It  has 
been  surmised  that  the  volume  might  have  been 
printed  in  New  York ;  but  if  that  were  the  case,  he 
could  have  had  no  possible  motive  for  withholding 
his  name  from  the  title  page. 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  109 

The  work  was  reprinted  in  London  in  the  same 
year,  and  I  find  the  title  of  the  English  ending  as  fol- 
lows: Printed  in  Pennsylvania.  "Reprinted  in  Lon- 
don, for  R.  Baldwin,  1693,"  which,  in  my  opiniou, 
effectually  dispels  all  doubts  about  the  matter.  In 
addition  -to  which,  Bradford  having  been  discharged 
from  prison  and  had  his  press  restored  to  him  by 
Governor  Fletcher,  on  the  sole  ground  of  his  having 
been  imprisoned  for  a  religious  difference,  could  not 
have  had  any  misgivings  whatever  respecting  the  pub- 
lication of  above  recital  of  the  circumstances  attending 
his  trial. 

New  York,  A,  D,  1(592.  A  Proclamation,  being  a 
warning  to  the  people  to  erect  a  beacon  to  be  fired  as 
a  signal  on  the  approach  of  the  French,  fleet,  then  ex- 
pecting as  an  invading  force,  and  for  all  to  hold  them- 
selves in  readiness.  Printed  by  W.  Bradford,  at  New 
York,  Printer  to  their  Majesties,  1692.  Supposed  to 
be  the  first  production  of  Bradford's  press  in  New  ^ 
York.     Nothing  else  is  known  to  exist  bear  this  date. 

New  York,  A,  D.  1693,     A  volume  of  the  Laws  of 
the  Colony,  &;c.     Printed  and  sold  by  Wm,  Bradford, 
Printer  to  their  Majesties,  at  the  sign  of  the  Bible,  in  — 
New  York,  1693. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1694.  The  Laws  and  Acts  of 
General  Assembly  for  their  Majesties'  Province  of 
New  York,  as  they  were  enacted  in  divers  Sessions, 


110  FORTY    YEARS   AMONG 

the  first  of  which  befran  April  24,  A.  D.  1691, 
Printed  at  New  York  by  Wm.  Bradford,  Printer  to 
tlieir  Majesties,  King  William  and  Mary  ;  folio,  no 
cover,  1694. 

This  volume  embraces  all  the  laws  up  to  date  of 
publication.  The  Acts  of  each  session  seem  to  have 
been  published  separately. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1696.     A  Letter  of  Advice  to  a 
/im\At.  Young  Gentleman  leaving  the  University,  concerning 

his  Behavior  and  Conversation  in  the  World.  By  R. 
L.j  24mo,,  pp.  45.  Printed  and  sold  by  Wm.  Brad- 
ford, printer  to  his  Majesty,  King  William,  at  the 
Bible,  in  New  York,  1696. 

This  rare  little  book  is  the  earliest  book  known  to 
have  been  printed  in  the  city  of  New  York,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Laws  of  the  Colony,  which  appeared 
in  1694.  Both  were  printed  by  the  celebrated  Wm. 
Bradford.  This  volume  may  be  considered  unique; 
it  is  the  only  one  that  I  have  seen  or  heard  of.  It 
was  sold  at  the  sale  of  the  late  Mr.  E.  B.  Corwin's 
library,  for  $12.50.  The  author  was  doubtle&s  Rich- 
ard Lyon,  for  an  account  of  whom  see  Allen's  Bio-  "^ 
graphical  Dictionary. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1696.     A  Reprint  of  a  London 
Gazette,  containing  an  account  of  an  engagement  with 
the  French.     The  first  newspaper  printed  in  Amer-  fj 
ica. 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  Ill 

New  York,  A.  D.  1698.  The  Proceedings  of  His 
Exceliency,  Earl  Bellemont,  Governor  of  New  York, 
and  his  Council,  on  the  8th  of  May,  1692.  Printed 
and  sold  by  Wm.  Bradford,  Printer  to  the  King,  New 
York,  1698,  one  sheet  folio. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1699.     A  Trumpet  sounded  out         ^ 
of  the  Wilderness  of  America,  which  may  prove  as  a  /^ 

warning  to  the  Government  and  People  of  New  Eng- 
land, to  beware  of  Quakerism,  wherein  is  shown  how, 
in  Pennsylvania  and  thereway,  where  they  have  the 
government  in  their  own  hands,  they  hire  and  en- 
courage men  to  fight,  and  how  they  prosecute,  fine, 
and  imprison,  and  take  away  goods  for  conscience 
sake ;  by  Daniel  Leeds.  Printed  by  Wm.  Bradford, 
Printer  to  the  King,  New  York,  1699. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1702.  A  refutation  of  a  dangerous 
and  hateful  opinion  maintained  by  Mr.  S.  Willard,  an 
independent  Minister  of  Boston,  and  President  at  the 
Commencement  at  Cambridge,  in  New  England,  July 
1st,  1702,  4to.     No  title,  pp.  7. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1702.  An  account  of  the  illegal 
trial  of  Nicholas  Bayard.  Printed  by  William  Brad- 
ford, at  the  sign  of  the  Bible  in  New  York,  1702. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1703.  A  Reply  to  Mr.  Increase 
Mather's  Printed  Remarks  on  a  Sermon  Preached  by 
G.  K.,  at  her  Majesty's  Chapel  in  Boston,  the  14th  of 
June,  1702.     In  vindication  of  the  six  Good  Rules  in 


112  FORTY  YEARS  AMONG 

Divinity  there  delivered.  Which  he  hath  attempted 
(though  very  Feebly  and  Unsuccessfully)  to  refute, 
by  Geo.  Keith,  M.  A.  Printed  and  sold  by  William 
Bradford,  at  the  Bible  in  New  York.  1703, 4to.,  pp.  35. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1703.  The  Kebuker  Rebuked, 
in  a  Brief  Answer  to  Caleb  Pusey  his  Scurrilous 
Pamphlet,  Entitled,  A  Rebuke  to  Daniel  Leeds,  etc. 
Wherein  Wm.  Penn,  his  Sandy  Foundation  is  fairly 
quoted,  showing  that  he  calls  Christ  The  Finite  Im- 
potent Creature,  by  Daniel  Leeds.  Printed  and  sold 
by  Wm.  Bradford  at  the  Bible  in  New  York,  1703. 
4to.     Title;  To  the  Reader,  one  leaf,  pp.  5  to  11. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1703.  The  spirit  of  Railing 
Shirael,  and  of  Baal's  four  hundred  Lying  Prophets 
entered  into  Caleb  Pusey,  and  his  Quaker  Brethren  in 
Pennsylvania,  who  approve  him.  4to.,  printed  and 
sold  by  Wm.  Bradford,  at  the  sign  of  the  Bible  in 
New  York. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1703.  A  Sermon  Preached  at 
Kingstown,  in  Jamaica,  upon  the  7th  of  June.  Being 
the  Anniversary  Fast  of  that  Dreadful  Earthquake 
which  happened  there  in  the  year  1692,  by  William 
Corbin,  T.  B.  Printed  and  sold  by  Wm.  Bradford, 
at  the  Bible  in  New  York,  1703.  4to.,  Epistle,  1  leaf 
and  16  pp. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1704.  Some  brief  remarks  upon 
a  late   book,    entitled    "George   Keith    once    more 


u 


THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  113 

brought  to  the  Test,"  etc.,  having  the  name  of  Caleb 
Pusey  at  the  end  of  the  preface,  and  C.  P.  at  the  end 
of  the  book  ( W.  Bradford,  New  York,  1704).  4to., 
pp.  20. 

This  volume  has  no  title  page,  and  was  doubtless 
published  without  one.  It  was  written  by  George 
Keith,  and  is  dated  March  2d,  1704,  over  his  signa- 
ture. A  great  portion  of  the  matter  relates  to  Brad- 
ford's trial  and  his  final  discharge,  with  the  restoration 
of  his  printing  implements  by  Governor  Fletcher. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1704.  An  answer  to  Mr.  Samuel 
Willard  (one  of  the  Ministers  at  Boston  in  New  Eng- 
land). His  reply  to  My  Printed  Sheet,  called  A 
Dangerous  and  Hateful  Opinion  maintained  by  him, 
viz :  That  the  Fall  of  Adam  and  all  the  sins  of  men, 
necessarily  came  to  pass  by  virtue  of  God's  Decree, 
and  his  determining  both  of  the  will  of  Adam  and 
all  other  men  to  sin,  by  George  Keith,  M.  A.  Printed 
and  sold  by  Wm.  Bradford,  at  the  sign  of  the  Bible 
in  New  York,  1704.  Dedicated  to  his  Excellency 
Edward  Viscount  Cornbury,  Captain  General,  and 
Governor-in-Chief,  etc.,  etc.     4to.,  pp.  41. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1704.  The  notes  of  the  True 
Church,  with  the  Application  of  them  to  the  Church 
of  England,  and  the  Great  Sin  of  Separation  from  Her. 
Delivered  in  a  Sermon,  preached  at  Trinity  Church, 
New  York,  before  the  Administration  of  the  Holy 
6 


114:  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG 

Sacrament,  at  the  Lord's  Supper,  7th  of  November, 

1703,  bj   Greo.  Keith,  M.  A.     Printed   and   sold  by 
Wm.  Bradford,  at  the  sign  of  the  Bible  in  New  York, 

1704.  4to.,  Title,  Epistle,  3  leaves,  pp.  20. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1705.  The  Great  Mystery  of 
Foncroft  Discovered,  and  the  Quaker  plainness  and 
Sincerity  Demonstrated.  First  to  their  Great  Apostle, 
Geo.  Fox.  Secondly,  In  their  late  Subscribing  the 
Oath  or  Act  of  Abjuration.  Introduced  with  two 
letters  written  by  George  Fox  to  Coll.  Lewis  Morris, 
deceased,  exactly  spelled  and  Printed  as  in  the  Orig- 
inals, which  are  now  to  be  seen  in  the  Library  at  Bur- 
lington, in  New  Jersey,  and  will  be  proved  (by  the  like- 
ness of  the  Hand,  &;c.)  to  be  the  Handwriting  of  the 
Quakers'  learned  Fox,  if  desired.  To  which  is  added, 
A  Postscript  into  some  remarks  on  the  Quaker's  Al- 
manack for  this  year  1705.     ito.,  pp.  16. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1706.  John  Sharpe.  A  Ser- 
mon— preached  at  Trinity  Churcb  in  New  York, 
Aug.  13,  1706,  at  the  funeral  of  Katherine  Lady 
Cornbury,  heiress  to  the  Duke  of  Eichmond  and 
Lenox,  and  wife  of  Lord  Cornbury,  Governor  of  New 
York,  New  Jersey.  4to.  Printed  and  sold  by  Wm, 
Bradford  at  the  Bible  in  New  York. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1709.  An  Alarm  Sounded  to 
Prepare  the  Inhabitants  of  the  World  to  Meet  the 
Lord  in  the  Way  of  his  Judgment,  by  Bath  Bowers. 


THE    OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  115 

Dated  at  the  end  Philadelphia,  July  1709,  but  evi- 
dently printed  by  Bradford  at  New  York.  4to,,  pp.  23. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1710.     Lex  Parliamentaria,  etc. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1710.  Acts  of  the  General  As- 
sembly of  New  York,  now  in  force.  Bradford's  usual 
imprint. 

New  York,  A.  D.  1717.  The  Laws  and  Acts  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  his  Majesty's  Province  of  Nova 
Caesarea  or  New  Jersey,  as  they  were  enacted  by  the 
Governor,  Council,  and  General  Assembly,  for  the 
time  being,  in  divers  sessions.  The  first  of  which  be- 
gan in  November,  1703.  Printed  and  sold  by  John 
Bradford,  Printer  to  the  King's  most  excellent  Majesty 
for  the  province  of  New  Jersey,  1717. 


OLD  BOOK  COLLECTORS. 


HAVE  given  in  the  earlier  portion  of  these 
memoirs  some  statements  about   the   earliest 
old  book  collectors  I  have  met:  here  I  shall 
close  by  sketching  the  very  few  we  have  to-day. 

The  true  bibliomaniac,  I  am  sorry  again  to  have^ 
to  repeat,  is  a  rarissimo — nearly  as  scarce  as  the  dodo. 
We  have  a  few  that  collect  books  and  have  fine  li- 
braries; but  the  true  Dibdin  man — the  man  that  can- 
not pass  an  old  book  store,  or  even  an  old  junk  shop; 
that  will  travel  miles  to  enrich  his  collection;  that 
has  not  time  even  to  dress  decently ;  that  lives  in  his 
library,  sleeps  in  it,  surrounded  by  folios,  quartos,  in 
fact,  every  size;  that  eats  his  meals  there ;  that  smokes 
his  pipe;  whose  atmosphere  smells  musty,  and  cleanli- 
\^ness  is  almost  a  vice — this  class  of  men  are  rare.  I 
do  not  say  all  these  peculiarities  are  even  necessary  or 
desirable,  but  such  men  do  live,  have  lived,  and  no 
doubt  will  always  live. 

I  know  one  man  in  this  city,  the  honorable  Judge 
Penny  packer,  who  possesses  the  true  spirit  of  a  biblio- 
maniac.    His  specialty  is  early  American  imprints 
(116) 


AMONG  THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS.  117 

and  nearly  all  Pennsylvania  early  imprints.  It  is  a 
pleasure  to  meet  him.  He  is  suave,  affable  and  kind 
to  all,  and  extremely  liberal  in  his  dealings.  His 
library  consists  of  over  3000  early  imprints:  the  Eph- 
rata  imprints  number  100;  Franklin's  imprints,  150; 
Sauer's  imprints,  160 ;  he  has  the  first  printed  Broad- 
side of  Sauer ;  Pennsylvania  Almanacks  of  the  last 
century,  200;  Poor  Kichard's  Almanac,  30;  early 
maps  of  Pennsylvania;  he  has  the  earliest  of  German- 
town  (1686)  Pastorius  Gradation,  printed  about  1676,  " 
His  collection  of  books  of  David  Kittenhouse  is  the  - 
most  perfect  known,' 

The  most  perfect  and  numerous  collection  of  Chris- 
topher Sowers  is  in  the  possession  of  William  Sowers,  - 
late  publisher.  I  have  sold  to  him  over  forty  years 
ago,  when  such  books  were  not  in  demand,  a  large 
number.  I  have  sold  Sower's  Bibles,  and  fine  copies 
too,  from  $2  to  $4  ;  now  they  bring,  as  in  Brindley's 
Fale,  over  $300 — this  was  an  exceptionally  fine  copy. 
A  poor  copy  was  sold  at  auction  in  this  city  a  few 
weeks  ago  and  only  brought  $4,  but  a  good  copy  will 
bring  $25, 

Howard  Edwards,  to  whom  I  sold  books  forty 
years  ago,  has  made  a  specialty  of  collecting  old  Bibles, 
and  early  printed  Episcopal  Prayer  Books,  He  is 
one  of  those  collectors  of  books  that  if  he  had  the 
wealth  of  a  Gould  would  be  princely  in  his  purchases. 


118  FORTY  YEARS 

His  scanty  purse  has  enabled  him,  with  exemplary 
economy,  to  have  the  largest  collection  of  old  Bibles 
and  Episcopal  Prayer  Books  in  this  city. 

Charles  Mann  has  been  collecting  dramatic  works 
for  over  thirty  years,  and  has  the  largest  dramatic 
library  in  this  city. 

Mr.  Noble  has  a  noble  heart.  He  is  a  poor  artisan, 
works  for  his  daily  bread,  but  would  rather  buy  a  rare, 
good  book  than  a  suit  of  clothes.  His  specialty  is  books 
on  Free  Thought,  and  he  probably  has  the  best  col- 
lection of  this  class  in  this  city.  He  also  collects 
books  on  America  and  the  late  war,  and  he  buys 
with  judgment  and  extensive  knowledge  of  books. 

The  McAlisters,  W.  A.  and  John,  still  love  books, 
a  taste  they  inherited  from  their  much  respected 
father,  who  was  a  genuine  collector. 

C.  P.  Bement,  a  rich  man,  I  am  glad  to  hear  has 
become  a  good  purchaser  of  books  and  also  patronizes 
the  fine  arts. 

W.  S.  Baker,  the  Washington  authority,  has 
linked  his  name  among  the  Washingtonian  authorities 
of  the  day  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  reflect  credit  on 
himself  and  has  obtained  a  niche  in  history.  His 
literary  works  were  not  written  for  money,  but  for 
the  love  of  his  Fatherland.  He  is  a  kind  and  affable 
man,  and  generous  in  his  purchases. 

F.  J.  Dreer's  specialty  is  autographs,  and  the  very 


AMONG  THE   OLD   BOOKSELLERS,  119 

fine  collection  of  autographs  which  he  has  been  col- 
lecting for  over  forty  years ;  he  has  generously  given 
them  to  the  Historical  Society  of  this  city.  He  has  a 
fair  library  of  books,  and  in  his  lifetime  has  bought 
generously. 

C.  E.  Hildebran,  librarian  to  the  Athenaeum 
Library,  has  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  old 
books,  and  has  published  a  work  on  Pennsylvania  ^^^ 
literature — a  transcript  of  all  the  early  titles  of  the 
books  published  in  this  State,  which  an  untiring  in- 
dustry could  collect  from  all  the  old  newspapers 
printed  in  this  State.  Great  credit  is  due  to  him  for 
indefatigable  industry. 

Simon  Gratz  has  a  fine  library,  and  still  collects 
old  books ;  but  his  specialty  is  collecting  autographs, 
and  it  is  said  that  he  has  the  largest  collection  in 
America.  I  have  sold  him  many,  but  have  not  seen 
his  collection  as  a  whole. 

R.  C.  Davis,  who  died  two  years  ago,  was  a  gener- 
ous and  noble  man.  He  had  a  fine  collection  of  books 
and  coins,  but  his  autographs  were  his  pride.  His 
collections  of  coins  and  autographs  were  among  the 
finest  in  the  country.  After  his  death  they  were  sold 
intact. 

W.  H.  Kemble  is  a  book  collector,  and  it  said  he 
has  quite  a  library  on  the  "  Letters  of  Junius." 

E.  Leslie  Gilliams  is  a  young  journalist,  and  I  am 


SJUL 


120      FORTY  YEARS  AMONG  THE  OLD  BOOKSELLERS. 

glad  to  see  he  is  moping  about  old-book  stores,  and  is 
devoted  to  the  collection  of  local  history,  and  soon 
will  have  a  fine  collection.  I  trust  he  will  ardently 
continue  his  pursuit,  and  time  will  reward  his  labors 
with  joy. 

Clarence  Clark,  a  wealthy  gentleman  of  this  city,  I 
learn,  some  years  ago  collected  a  very  fine  library, 
and  is  still  collecting  books — published  a  very  fine 
catalogue  of  his  library.  I  have  not  seen  it,  but  this 
is  very  encouraging,  and  shows  that  the  old  biblio- 
graphic spirit  still  lives,  and  the  fashionable  clubs  do 
not  grasp  all. 


•w 


r*'.. 


ITTOEX. 


PAGK 

Apley 21 

Duross 23 

James  Bailing ,  23 

John  Pennington 24 

Peterson  and  Childs 28 

W.  A.  Leary 34 

Paine 36 

John  Campbell 36 

John  Wood 42 

Patrick  Lynch 42 

Hugh  Hamel 42 

Peter  Doyle 43 

Brown  Brothers 45 

James  Barr 46 

Joseph  Sabin 46 

Scanlin 50 

Moses  Polock 50 

John  Hunt 52 

Jarrett 53 

E.Price 53 

Rees  Welsh  &  Co 56 

H.  McKean 57 

W.  S.  Rentoul 57 

Bardsley 58 

W.  A.  Leary,  Jr 59 

Thomas 61 

(131) 


122  INPEX. 

FAGB 

Henry  HoUoway 63 

Leary  &  Co.  (E.  8.  Stuart  &  Co.) 64 

Holloway 67 

John  King 68 

Walter  B.  Saunders 68 

Schaflfer  and  Koradi 69 

C.  J.  Price 69 

David  McKay ,    , 71 

W.  H.  Brotherhead 71 

Men  and  Books 72 

Prices  and  Editions  of  Books 74 

Old  Books 97 

Bibliography  of  William  Bradford's  Books 103 

Old  Book  Collectors 116 


if  7  3 
B7 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW. 


'A 


Series  9482 


V2>. 


